


Elegy of a Broken Expanse

by halcyonhowl (foxmoon)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blanket warning for imperial fuckery, Canon Trans Character, Canon Typical Swearing, Disabled Character of Color, Eventual Sex, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance In Space, Secret Relationship, Space Battles, Team as Family, Temporary Character Death, Treasure Planet vibes, blupjeans, gays in space, kravitz origin story, science fantasy hybrid, stolen century space opera, taakitz, taako yearns, the empire in this is an allegory for religious fanaticism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:35:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 54,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22791850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxmoon/pseuds/halcyonhowl
Summary: Taako and Kravitz fell for each other hard and fast, but the truth is a bit more complicated than that. They’d met before in a dangerous, broken world. They’d fallen in love there as well, but it was soft, slow, and in secret.When the Story and Song unfurled through the planes, Kravitz remembered something, too. His own impossible past. The strange, beautiful realm spread across the expanse of an asteroid belt. He remembered Taako, his home, and how he was willing to die to protect it all.It was the 71st year of the Stolen Century. The Starblaster crew crash landed on one of the asteroids of this world, and must find the Light of Creation before it falls into the wrong hands. Taako hated the cycles like this. The ones where he couldn’t chill on account of the obnoxious imperial protocol and warring factions in the way of their progress. But then he met Kravitz, a dashing artifact hunter, and his feelings changed. So what if he wasn’t on the same side?
Relationships: Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone), The Director | Lucretia/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 102
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this fic a while back, but took it down to work on it a bit more and make it better. Here's the shiny new version. At this point there are about 27 planned chapters, probably more. I hope you enjoy! Thank you in advance for any comments and kudos. :) Thanks to thimbleful for the help with my synopsis!
> 
> The Kelemvor quote at the end is from Faiths & Avatars, a Forgotten Realms D&D sourcebook.
> 
> Content warning this chapter: Suspense, anxiety, crash landing/associated fear and panic.

_The Astral Plane_

“You summoned me — ” Kravitz stopped short several feet from her throne. “...My queen?”

In her place on the throne was a floating sphere of black mist. Something moved inside, and he took a few steps closer. Wings, countless wings beat with slow, unnatural strokes. There were whispers, too, so he listened. Each wingbeat was a memory, each feather a fragmented thought, all in languages so old that their glyphs had likely faded to dust long before he was even born. He wanted to recoil, but he was too transfixed. They were not the Raven Queen’s own recollections, not her whispers, but of people who _knew_ her or spoke of her from ancient times. 

Thousands of whispers overlayed fricatives and syllables to form a message in a vague proximity of the voice he knew.

_‘My child. You must seek the scales of judgment before entropy takes them, too. Go forth and remember.'_

And then in a long ghostly exhale, the mist and everything inside disappeared.

His heart broke for this goddess, his mother. He felt helpless to understand what was happening, but it seemed it had taken all of her strength to pull together this message. She often spoke with an endearing mix of enigmatic bluntness. After being in her service for so long, he usually could interpret her without trouble. This message evaded him. Remember _what_? Scales of judgment? 

“I-I don’t understand.” The tremble in his voice played back to him as it bounced off the high stone walls. He could not remember ever feeling so small.

Kravitz looked at her empty throne, then at the scythe in his hands. This was… something was very fucking wrong here. Wrong things have happened before in his centuries in her service, but this was an edge case.

Jaw set, he swept from her throne room and out of the stockade where the sky had swiftly filled with enormous, unmoving clouds. The normally peaceful sea of souls writhed with dark, slashing waves. He gripped his scythe tightly. What was it Taako had said? They were trying to stop the artifacts from getting into the wrong hands, from destroying the whole world. 

Something grabbed at his ankles. He struggled and stumbled backward. Hands slick with black sludge reached up from the sea to pull at his feet, at his legs. Strings of the inky liquid trailed along the ancient stone-lined shore. Kravitz scrambled and kicked. More hands reached up to reinforce the first, and soon he was pulled under.

What followed was nothing short of a nightmare. The thick soul-tar seeped into his clothes, making him heavier and heavier. It _burned_ his construct flesh, but he could not seem to shift his form. He also, mercifully, couldn’t drown, so he would fight. Still, the hands persisted, grabbing him all over to keep him trapped under the surface every time he moved. 

Kravitz fought and anguished for an indeterminable amount of time, until an odd sort of warmth spread through his chest. It gave him enough strength to push up and up. His hands broke the surface, then his face. A few moments of gasping and sputtering out the dark liquid, his vision cleared. Something incredible hung in the air in the distance.

Magnus’s soul hurdled into the Astral plane, and then Taako — _Taako_ — his soul frightening and beautiful, determined not to let that happen. But they were all gone in a flash of celestial light, and Kravitz was once more dragged under.

Time passed so slowly he swore he could feel each pull of the needle as Istus wove her eternal patterns. He could try to shut down his mind, his senses, but if nothing else held any power here, then he was the only tether to its existence. So, he let his thoughts unspool to keep himself company. He thought of the bursts of destruction that plagued the land for the past decade or so. The hundreds and thousands of souls collected in the Moonshae Isles, Armos, and many other villages across the land. How he would be in the thick of collection, so many children, so many mothers and lovers and friends, and forget it ever happened. And then there would be hundreds of names in his book. Bounties to collect, people who died but had not checked in yet, only to remember again when he went to the Astral Plane. There had been so many lost in this way. 

He thought of his distant past. There were small splashes of memory — of being a child in a dark place, a gilded city with millions of stars in the sky. He’d lost his family, but he couldn’t remember how. As always, his mind shifted, like sands in the wind, to cover what had just been unveiled.

So, he focused on something that would stay. _Taako_. Solid and bright and sharp. How his touch had been so warm. His kiss, even warmer. And there was that one loud argument that ended with sharing a pie filled with peaches and blackberries, and some indefinable taste that reminded him of a time long past. But he couldn’t even lose himself in those memories. 

Whatever was happening in here, something worse would happen out there, and Taako would be in the thick of it. 

_Please, release me_ , he projected with his mind, and even in this way he sounded so weak.

The viscous, dark water writhed all around him. So many countless souls disturbed from their moments, their eons of peace. 

_You’re suffering, I know. I can’t help you if you keep me here. There’s-there’s someone. I know he can help. There’s the queen, I’ll keep trying. Please._

After a few helpless moments, the waters eased. He could still feel their rage and horror, some continued to pull at him, but he had been freed enough to finally break the surface again. The sky overhead looked worse, if that were even possible. The surface was still, a strange contrast to underneath, and covered in black ooze shot through with swirls of color.

He made his way back to the shore, still fending off a few grasping arms with his scythe, and scrambled into the Stockade. There, he laid out a circle of raven feathers and desperately tried to commune with the queen in the way he does on the Material plane. That didn’t work. He tried the stone of farpseech, desperately calling out on Taako’s frequency, but it, too, gave no answer. He tried over and over and over.

Finally, Kravitz set the stone in the circle of raven feathers. All calls for help went unanswered, and his scythe no longer worked as it should. _Trapped and alone_. Well, alone in a sense at least. What could he _do_? Find the scales of judgement, the queen had said. Okay, that’s… something. And right now he felt better doing _something_ , rather than lying on the ground as a moping pile of bones. 

He gathered up the feathers and the stone of farspeech to stuff back into his robes. He paced empty corridors of the stockade, searching. He never spent a lot of time in these halls. There was always paperwork to do. A bounty to hunt. A soul to gather. 

He went down to check on the high level prisoners. They shrieked and groaned at his presence, equally as angry and afraid as the other souls outside. 

In an alcove beside the row of cells, there was a stone mural of a skeletal hand holding scales. He’d seen this alcove countless times before, but it’d been empty and muralless. Just a cracked stone bench in a fancy corner. Candle wax residue stained the ledge before the mural as if at one time this had been an altar. But… _when?_ An inscription was etched below. 

_Death is but part of life: fear it not, evade it not, and view it not as evil._ — Kelemvor 

He touched the time-weathered lettering and whispered the unfamiliar name. 

“What do I do?” he asked out loud to the Raven Queen. To Kelemvor. To no one. 

“ _Free us_ ,” rasped a prisoner. Another echoed the request. And another.

“Not now,” said Kravitz, but they gave him an idea for later. He turned back to the scales and cleared his throat, straightened his back. “The Raven Queen sent me here. What would you have me do, Kelemvor?”

Silence. A prisoner’s sandpaper laugh echoed in the chamber.

Kravitz sighed. He pressed on the wall and inspected the mural for a secret panel or loose stone. He tried to focus beyond the stone to that liminal space between planes. Nothing happened, and he found nothing. He sat under it on the bench, leaned forward to rub his temples and wipe away tears. He could do so much, but not if he remained trapped like this.

“Is this _my_ death? Am I to die like this?” He asked, this time pointedly to this Kelemvor. “Was she telling me not to be afraid of it?”

Everything remained quiet and still and dark. Then a rush of story and song flowed through the Astral plane. Kravitz fell to his knees before the altar of the unknown deity, and remembered.

* * *

_Cycle 71, the Broken World_

This was different. There was no planet as far as Taako could tell. The Starblaster arrived to this new plane and idled in diffuse sunlight facing an endless dark void. Definitely not boring, but not the most conducive to their success in beating the Hunger this time around. 

After decades of cycles, Taako had gotten used to the pattern. First came the freaky sensation of millions of lifetimes pulling through his navel and projecting outward to infinity. Then it all would slide together, and Lup would be there beside him, mirroring his startled expression. She’d grin and squeeze his hand when they found their bearings, and the fear would slowly fade. Again and again; no matter how many times they went through the cycles, there would always be that phantom fear. An echo left over from their first time out. 

But this time there was no planet.

“I’m just going to, uh, follow the same heading,” Davenport said. “There has to be something out there somewhere.” He eased the Starblaster into cruise-velocity.

“Picking up a shit-ton of objects on the scanner a ways ahead. Maybe three days out, relatively,” Barry said. “They’re far enough apart that we should be able to make our way through them, but they’ll be hard to see.”

“Three days of space travel, huh?" Davenport said. "Unusual, but... in that case, kick back and relax for a bit." 

"Lup 'n I will keep an eye out for the Light,” Barry said. “Maybe we can somehow catch it before it even lands anywhere. That okay with you, babe?"

"Hell yeah. Meet you on the deck."

The rest of the crew eased into a routine reminiscent of some of their longer on-world journeys to find the Light. Between meals and naps and board games, they found ways to occupy themselves. Lucretia tucked herself into a cozy chair, journals spread out before her. Taako experimented with a tractor beam spell using Lup and Barry's research. Magnus read up on some engineering skills from one of the books they brought on board. Merle insisted that practicing a dance he learned in a previous cycle would be important someday. Taako had traveled with Merle long enough to not dispute it. 

On the third day, Davenport called everyone to the bridge. Large objects had been detected, as Barry originally ascertained. They had finally reached the orbital path of whatever planet would be their host for this trip. Except no planet appeared on the scan. Taako and Lup inspected the proximity sensor wards they placed on the ship. Barry compared it with the tracker sensor. Something was out there, but whatever it was had managed to fool both magical and nonmagical detection strategies.

A flash of light from outside suddenly filled the bridge, and then faded with distance. The Light of Creation. It cut a swift arc through space and then disappeared.

Davenport gripped the ship's wheel firmly, ever in his element. "Take your seats everyone! Time to roll!"

Taako buckled his seat harness with a little difficulty as the Starblaster met with some turbulence. Either it was turbulence or he shook so much that it had the same effect. Lup stumbled to her seat next to his, and the whole cabin vibrated. No, definitely turbulence.

_THWACK._

Something smacked into the ship. It was small enough not to knock them off course, but large enough to break apart and send pieces skittering across the hull. Within seconds, there was another, and another. Like a hailstorm, unseen objects pelted the Starblaster. Then as abruptly as it began, it all stopped.

The looming form of a boulder-like object swooped into view and was gone as they zipped past. More large, craggy shapes emerged from the darkness. Davenport maneuvered around them. “Hold on everyone! Find a seat!” 

“None of this shit’s showing up on the radar! Recalibrating the bond sensors.” Barry said over the noise. For a long, breathless minute, no one spoke. “Oh wait, there they are, s’like they were stealth. They’re all over!” He frantically calculated course corrections to help navigate through the chaos.

Davenport did his best to maneuver around the floating boulders, but one after another thwarted his path. The ship tipped sharply to the side. Jerked upward and down. Smaller rocks pelted the window, and soon the entire ship cabin shook with turbulence. 

“There’s a place big enough to land, uhh... starboard,” Barry announced. “Looks like all this shit’s in orbit around it.”

“Got it!” Davenport reached to flip a few switches, but not before a wagon-sized boulder slammed into the Starblaster’s left thruster. “Fuck!”

The ship jolted with the impact. Sparks sprayed inward from the side of the ship, and bits of paneling and equipment came loose to fall around them. A network of gold threads covered the breach–the ship’s shields now exposed. There was nothing but magic between them and the vacuum of space.

Taako felt Lup squeeze his hand. He squeezed back.

_“Shield’s about to fail!”_

_“The ship will break apart!”_

_“I fucking know that!”_

_“We’ll all die!”_

Taako lost track of who said what. It didn’t matter. If they all beefed it, someone else out there had to have a better plan for stopping the Hunger. Seventy-some years of searching for it to amount to this.

Davenport guided the Starblaster around a few more massive chunks of rock, and eventually the debris field faded into clear space. A small planet entered the view of the bridge. Perhaps a moon. A moon with clusters of lights on the surface. Hard to tell with all the vibrating. Whatever it was, it glowed soft blue-gray in the light from the faraway sun, and offered sanctuary from the storm of boulders. But the ship was too damaged to remain in orbit for long as it jostled and swayed all the way toward the sphere’s surface. The ground rushed up to fill the viewscreen. Taako closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He tried to remind himself that Davenport was an incredible pilot with decades of experience. He could land on a bird without breaking its back, but that was before the Starblaster had been heavily damaged. None of them had prepared spells that would prevent them from being smeared across the side of a planet at terminal velocity. Perhaps it was time to invent one if they survived.

A piercing rush of sound and vibration overwhelmed the ship, so violent the frame felt like it might shred apart. They had touched ground, but were still careening across the land. Taako braced himself through his hold on his sister. She pushed her face into his shoulder, and together they found some semblance of stability. They’d weathered dangers before, together, and came out fine. Like that thunderstorm that shook the ground when they were fledgling outcasts in the woods, their piddly campfire long snuffed by heavy rain. Or that stampede of angry rabble rousers at the market in Heathervale. They hid together in a gutter as the streets rained dust on their heads. 

Lup’s nails dug into his arm. “My teeth are gonna vibrate out of my skull!” 

Taako’s nervous laugh was swallowed by the noise around them. He searched his memory frantically. Tried to imagine something less terrifying was happening, and found that one time he and Lup went sledding down a steep embankment in giant serving bowls and wiped out in the river at the bottom of the ravine. If he squeezed his eyes shut, this felt just the same. Then Magnus yelled a string of expletives, and his memory flashed, changed to one of Lup being pulled into the Hunger. The river turned black. It carried her toward a massive column of dark energy threaded through with green and red and blue. Taako flinched and the vision dispersed. The ship had slowed, but continued to slide on its belly along the side of the planet-moon, probably digging a nice, long ditch through the crust. 

They came to rest at last, and for a time all that followed was the groan of metal dispersing the last tremors of impact shock, and seven pairs of lungs drawing frantic breaths. The ship’s shield spell flickered a few times then disappeared.

Magnus unclipped his safety harness and swayed as he stood. The black eye he’d gotten at the dive bar was no longer as noticeable among the other scrapes and smudges on his face. “That was a wild ride, Cap’nport,” he gruffed. He moved a metal panel from blocking the rows to the exit.

“You okay Lucretia? Merle?” Davenport asked of the two seated right behind him.

“Yes. We all made it this time.” Lucretia smiled through her exhaustion as she caught her breath. “No thanks to the shields hanging on by a thread.”

“Literally,” added Davenport.

“I was better before we flew into a bunch of rocks, but yeah,” muttered Merle. “What the hell were those things anyway?”

“Looks like a planet that blew up or something,” said Magnus.

“Or a would-be planet. The IPRE astronomers call them asteroids.” Barry rubbed his head, clicked out of his safety harness, and stumbled back toward Lup and Taako. His glasses were askew and his red robe was ripped at the sleeve. Sparing no concern for his own injury, he gathered up Lup when she moved from Taako’s arms to his. “During the R&D phase of the Starblaster project, we saw several of them orbiting our suns. Didn’t see ‘em that close up though.”

“You have a big bump up here, babe,” Lup said, inspecting Barry’s forehead. Blood gleamed along the wound. She gently dabbed at it with the sleeve of her robe. 

Barry winced. “I’m all right.”

Lup straightened his glasses and kissed the tip of his nose. “Sure, Bear.”

His face relaxed into a dopey smile. “Are you good?”

“Mmhm.” She brushed a few pieces of insulation from her hair. “I’ll feel better after you get that looked at.”

“Don’t everyone ask at once, but Taako’s fine.” Taako unclasped his harness and rose to his feet. The sight of Barry’s head wound made him recoil. “Oh shit. That could be bad news. I thought I saw lights before we crashed, maybe the locals have a decent healer.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Merle said, in the middle of healing his own arm. 

Taako sighed. “It’s no fun when you don’t even care that I’ve just insulted you.”

Merle made a few rude gestures. 

"That's more like it." Taako grinned. "Merle's okay everyone."

“At least there appears to be an atmosphere,” Davenport cut in from the front of the ship. 

“Artificial, but stable. We should be safe to disembark.”

Gingerly, the seven of them climbed out of the Starblaster. The regolith was soft blue-gray in the waning sunlight. It stretched out before them until it met a field of patchwork crops. Dark structures of a sprawling city rose in the far distance. Its lights twinkled through the haze of settling dust from the crash. 

Taako wandered around toward the back of the ship to look at the path of destruction they’d caused. Lup followed him after helping Barry find a place to sit. 

“Doesn’t look as bad as it felt,” she said, inspecting the outer hull in the glow of the ship’s navigation lights. “Other than the one big obvious hole, about fifty dings, and that gnarly scrape across the whole bottom. We’re not going anywhere for a while.”

“Pssh, cosmetic damage. You know what I’m thinking, right?” Taako said.

“What, babe?”

“The arcane shielding survived atmospheric reentry at terminal velocity, baby. I know fuck all about the technical terms I literally just said, but I know we’re goddamn geniuses at magic.”

Lup laughed. “Yeah, pretty fucking rad of us.”

“Look sharp everyone. We’ve got company,” Davenport said.

Several bright lights approached rapidly from the distant city. With no moon to illuminate the expanse between, Taako had to rely on his dark vision to determine their shapes — small boat-like hovercraft with translucent sails. They barely made a sound as they rushed up to meet them.

Magnus stepped forward and put out his hand to gesture for everyone to remain in place behind him. “Let’s see what they want first. They could be bringing us welcome baskets full of candy.”

“You keep telling yourself that, m’man.” Taako plucked a bit of debris from his shoulder.

“Hey, one of these times it’ll be true. Just wait.”

The hoverboats came to a stop several yards away, spaced out in an arc before the Starblaster. An eerie stillness followed. Taako felt his pulse quicken with every second, and he could hear the anxious breathing of his companions. At last, one of the hoverboats broke away from the others and moved closer, its sail undulating like a fish fin in water. It came to rest once more within the broad halo cast by the Starblaster’s navigation lights. Now Taako could see more clearly. It was made of what looked like dark lacquered wood with metal trim, and bore the insignia of a red rose wreathed in stars on its side. Its gossamer sail rose overhead, and a glass dome covered a portion of the top. Inside, he could see the shape of a person — humanoid — but the glare obscured any details. 

A portion of the hoverboat’s glass dome lifted up and slid back. Stairs unfolded on the side, and the figure within rose from the seat and descend the short distance between the boat and the ground. They walked forward and stood stiffly before the Starblaster crew, dressed in a crisp uniform that buttoned up one side of the chest with armored elements and a feathered healm. A rapier rested at one hip, and a pistol at the other. Ornate, ostentatious. A gods-damn mini moon cop. Taako sighed.

“Hail, friend! Well met,” Magnus said with an easy smile. “Sorry about the mess. We sorta crashed here on accident? We’ll get it all fixed and cleaned up and be on our way.”

“You have entered Stonesea Imperial territory unauthorized. Who among you is in command?” the fancy mini-moon cop asked.

Davenport stepped forward. “I’m the captain of the ship. Captain Davenport.” He smoothed the edge of his ginger mustache. “How do we address you?”

The fancy mini-moon cop took a step back. He seemed tense, hand on his rapier hilt. “L-lieutenant Commander Finley of the Imperial Guard, in service to his royal majesty Emperor Halderin the Third.” 

“That’s a lot to say, can we just call you LC?” Magnus said.

Lt. Commander Finley looked over the rest of them, not answering. He hesitantly approached Taako and Lup, inspecting their ears and general appearance from a moderate distance. “What have we here?” 

“My ears?” Lup said with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ve only seen ears like that in…" Finley swallowed, fighting awe or disbelief. "Where are you from, exactly?”

“We’re from nowhere. What does it fucking matter, my dude? We crashed, can you like, get help?” Taako said, making a shooing gesture.

Finely peered closer at Taako, gaze settling here and there over his features. Namely the ears. It made Taako a little self conscious, so he put his hands over them and peered right back at Finley. Fair skin, thin-framed body, an okay face. were tapered to a point, though not as long as an elf’s would be. He was also... trembling. There was a soft rattle of his rapier as he clutched it tightly.

"Yeah, get a good look," Taako said. "It might be your last if you don't back off."

Finley did back up, expression shifting to open worry. He fumbled with a pocket and withdrew a thin metal object, which he put to his lips. A high, sharp whistle sounded. The hovercrafts that had been floating in silent sentry a distance behind him all moved forward at once. They formed a tighter semicircle, trapping the seven and Finley between them and the Starblaster. 

"Good move, Taako," Davenport said with a derisive huff. "Threats always work in our favor."

“Do not be alarmed.” Finley sniffed and straightened the collar of his uniform. “As part of Imperial protocol, I must first detain you for questioning and assessment. Just a few simple questions and you can be on your way. However, if you refuse to answer, you will be imprisoned."

“Listen,” Lup drawled. “Our ship just crashed, right?” she gestured behind herself. "And we’re a bit shaken up. Do you have healers here? A medic? We can talk interrogation after, perhaps?”

Davenport sighed. “She's right. If I might suggest; we should have our diplomatic chat here while we wait for medical help. I’d like to get started on repairs right away.”

Finley took them in once more, gave Taako and Lup in particular a long, strange look before he signaled with the whistle again. Others emerged from two of the hovercraft. They wore similar uniforms, though less decorated. Another wore long dark blue robes with the imperial symbol stitched at the breast. Finley went to intercept his fellow mini-moon cops, and they spoke quietly with each other. Taako strained to listen in, but they must've had some sort of ward in place to deflect his senses.

At last, Finley turned toward them again, still maintaining an awkward distance. “Welcome to Grandalia,” he said with a flourish of his hand. “The jewel of the seventh sector of the Stonesea. For your safety and ours, we must ask you a few questions. Our medic will also ensure that your wounded receive the care they need.”

After a moment, Merle huffed. “Hey, wait a minute. That’s my job, buddy.”

“Then please do it, Merle,” said Barry, covering his head wound with the sleeve of his robe. “Much rather you than these chucklefucks.”

Merle gave Finley a stink eye that made Taako proud, and went to help Barry with his head injury. "Sorry bud, think I'm a bit shaken up myself."

Lup went to join them and helped Barry sit on a sturdy piece of debris.

Taako stepped away as the other soldiers began their questioning process with Davenport, Magnus, and Lucretia. This wouldn’t be the first time they ran into pretentious imperial regimes or ridiculously strict protocol, but it always made the cycles that much harder. He scanned the night sky idly. It was alive with little lights drifting lazily among the stars. Ships? Countless asteroids? Whatever they were, the Light of Creation had to be somewhere among them. But how could they ever find it in a place like this?

* * *

_Grandalia of the Stonesea, Sector Seven_

Kravitz perched on the roof of the Grandalia opera house and scanned the streets below. An hour ago, he'd performed in the chamber orchestra for the opening night of a new opera. Now he would steal the oldest, most precious instrument that existed in the entire Stonesea Empire. Well, _steal_ was subjective. He was a treasure hunter. His goal was to retrieve valuable relics from imperial clutches and return them to the Ancestor Collective. 

The Flute of Hadalsha was believed to predate the settlement of Stonesea by hundreds of years, making it _at least_ two thousand years old. It belonged to the Hadalshans, who had survived together, like many other cultural communities, on the long journey to find a new homeworld. They’d found a quiet spot outside of the burgeoning empire’s reach in the last stretch of unconquered asteroids until, like every independent settlement, they were overtaken and all of their homeworld artifacts confiscated.

The Ancestor Collective emerged as retaliation. Forged by anti-imperialists as a way to protect and restore items of cultural significance to their rightful owners. Its location was unknown to most, but accessible to those bearing the Collective’s magical sigil. Kravitz was proud to be part of the effort. He was also extremely good at it. Two hundred fifty-seven books and scrolls, five instruments, seventeen statuettes, three skulls. Coins, ritual garb, jewelry, urns, seeds from the homeworld long ago lost to the death of the sun. All tucked safely in the Collective's vault or back with their rightful owners out of Imperial clutches thanks to his efforts alone.

Kravitz’s one rule was no death stuff. While the Collective itself didn’t forbid it (nor did it necessarily suggest it as an option), his oath to the temple of Kelemvor was deeply against murder. And necromancy, but that didn’t apply in this particular situation. At least he didn't suspect it. Anything was unfortunately possible, if his last mission was any indication.

There was a soft click followed by the clap of boots on paving stones. The Imperial curator emerged from the side door of the opera house. He clutched a sturdy lockbox, in which the ancient flute lay nestled in crimson velvet. Kravitz knew, because he had witnessed the exchange himself as he was locking his cello in its case after the last show. The flautist who’d (desecrated) played it had pontificated about how honored he was to be able to hold such a curious relic as he dropped it into the curator’s lockbox. 

Imperial guards–with rapiers and pistols slung at their hips–flanked the curator, and they were followed by the opera’s harried producer. Kravitz tilted his head to listen in on the conversation. Although he was fairly high up in the statue-crowded eaves, he managed to hear everything thanks to a sense enhancing spell he’d cast before sneaking up to his current position.

The opera producer patted sweat from his brow with a kerchief. “Thank you ever so much for allowing us access to the flute. Every showing today was sold out. Absolutely incredible. We haven’t had a night like this since Opalene… well, you know.”

“Indeed, may her soul be at rest.”

Kravitz’s jaw clenched at the sound of his mother’s name. She was once the lead soprano at the opera house, but retired to work at the Ancestor Collective after the death of his brother and father. For all they knew, his whole family was lost. For all _he_ knew. Now wasn’t the time to second guess the grim letters about his mother. He breathed steadily through his nose to calm the rising emotions.

“I shall pass along your thanks to his Imperial Majesty.” The curator fidgeted as he spoke, clearly eager to get the flute back to the palace. “I heard that the young princess enjoyed the show immensely. Said it made her feel connected to the past. To our homeworld.”

Kravitz withheld a deep sigh. A flute carved by family elders and used in funerary rituals for generations had been reduced to a popcorn spectacle. The princess had no bloody idea what past she claimed to feel connected to. Kravitz would take out his frustrations on the piano later, but for now he had to focus. The target was in motion.

Shadows cast by the opera house’s ornate architectural features kept him well obscured as he moved stealthily along the ledge. The curator and his guards turned the corner to head behind the building to a private drive for staff and performers. Kravitz climbed down a stone gutter and lept to a slanted roof that belonged to one of the lower tiers of the building, positioning himself mere feet above them. 

The carriage waited in the dim glow of its lanterns. Kravitz had taken care of the lamp that would have otherwise amply lit the back drive. All that was left to do was wait for them all to board the carriage so he could activate the slumber pearl. 

A bright light flared suddenly in the night sky.

Kravitz tore his attention from his mark, and watched the light fly, comet-like, until it disappeared somewhere among the distant asteroids of the Stonesea. He stared after it in wonder. Desire brushed his senses like a soft whisper in his ear. It took him a moment to distinguish that it wasn’t his own desire he felt. It was a desire extended towards him, a plea aching to be answered. Another light flashed overhead close to where the first had appeared, though harsher. Kravitz stared, bemused, as the distinct shape of a ship without lightsails came into view. A trail of vapor billowed in the ship’s wake. It was definitely going to crash. It was going to crash right within plain view of the opera house roof on which he currently sat, waiting for— _shite!_

The carriage bearing the flute had already pulled away and entered the heavily trafficked street. Kravitz couldn’t activate the pearl now lest he put other people in danger. He swore under his breath, and lept to the ground, feet landing with a soft pat. It would take them fifteen minutes to reach the lightsail port by carriage. Good thing he knew several shortcuts. But no matter how well he timed it, there wouldn’t be another unsuspecting moment like the one he’d just squandered.

The faraway rumble of the crashing spaceship quieted the otherwise noisy city. Kravitz could not deny the curious urge to investigate, but it would be far more prudent to take advantage of imperial protocol during collision events. City guards would be ordered to protect the princess at the opera house. The lightsail port would close. The flute would be stuck on Grandalia. He lowered his hood and darted through the park behind the arts quarter, a new plan already hatched.

After he rescued the flute, he’d see about that strange, alluring Light.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to thimbleful for the beta. <3
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and thanks in advance for comments/kudos. I really appreciate all of you!

Kravitz knelt in the Ancestor Collective’s inner court cavern with the Flute of Haldasha resting across his palms. Luminescent crystal clusters twinkled softly from surrounding speleothems, and the smell of wet earth infused the crisp, cool air. Before him, on a semicircle of raised platforms, stood fourteen elders in full regalia. They represented each of the fourteen ancestor nations, and had risked their livelihoods to orchestrate this vast method of recovery and protection. It was an honor to bear their trust.

Kravitz’s own Aleveskan elder smiled at him proudly. Otherwise, they regarded him in stoic silence. Despite the relative peacefulness of his surroundings, this was always an intimidating part of the process, no matter how many times he’d done it. 

The Haldashan elder stepped forward at last. Her beaded robe gently swept the cavern floor. She smiled, warm and reverent, as she carefully took the flute in her time-weathered hands. 

“Thank you, Kravitz, child of Aleveska.” Her voice resonated through the large chamber. “You have done well as always. On behalf of the Haldashan people, I invite you to the customary reclaiming ceremony. We will contact you when arrangements have been made and our safety is ensured.” 

Kravitz rose to his feet and made the Haldashan sign of respect. “It is my honor.”

The representative of Oshreen stepped forward. He wore a twisted silver band around his black hair. Robes embroidered with geometric patterns and long sleeves almost as pale as his skin hung from his arms. “Kravitz, you mentioned in your message that you witnessed a light fall from the stars, and that a ship crashed soon after.” 

Kravitz tensed. More than one elder has never interacted with him during the delivery of an artifact before. Then he remembered that the Oshreen had a large community on Grandalia. Of course he would want to interject to determine the safety of his people. 

The Elder of Haldasha did not frown, or show any other outward signs of offense. She kept her gaze leveled at Kravitz as her fellow elder joined her side. “Yes, please tell us about your encounter,” she said. “As many details as possible.”

“Of course,” Kravitz said, and recounted what he saw, including the feeling of desire that overcame him as the light flew past.

The Elder of Aleveska moved forward to join the other two. Her long mane of black braids was covered by a sheer veil. A flowing smoke gray sash wrapped over one dark brown shoulder and around her waist to cover a gold ceremonial tunic. Kravitz began to genuflect, but the elder held out her hand to stop him.

“Please stand. Our Birds all over the Stonesea have reported a similar effect from the light. Some claimed the pull so strong that they found themselves climbing into their lightsail skiffs to find it. The empire is no doubt also aware. Therefore, our next task for you is to track down and retrieve whatever this thing may be that stirs desire in our hearts. The empire’s desire is to destroy us, so you see our worry. What do you say?”

Kravitz almost agreed without hesitation, but this was outside of the norm. He trusted the elders with his life. Whatever that light was, he did not trust at all, and yet he wanted to find it. He wanted to be the only one to find it. At the same time, he didn’t like that this thing so easily derailed their centuries-long objective. No doubt it would also throw off the empire’s strategy as well, which could work in their favor if they were careful not to get sidetracked. 

“Respectfully, what will happen to it once I deliver it to you?” Kravitz asked, back straight. 

His elder tilted her head. A small, appraising smile curled at her lips. “A good question. We wish to understand it, and from there what we do depends on what it is.”

Kravitz didn’t like that answer. The ambiguity of it settled uncomfortably in his gut. “It’s possible we can find that out another way,” he hedged. “The ship. If there are survivors, they may know more about it. It’s no coincidence that they appeared around the same time. The light itself may pose unknown dangers regardless of who possesses it, and I’d like to know what I’m dealing with.”

“This is understood. However, you have faced many unknown dangers before. This is why we have full confidence in your ability to hunt it down.”

“Thank you for trusting me. Please understand, I… I don’t feel the desire now, but when I did it was so strong that I forgot myself. I temporarily lost my mark.” He flexed his fingers. “And I almost lost the flute. I wanted the light _more_. If it was that powerful just passing by, countless miles away, can you imagine its effect in hand?” 

His elder considered this and exchanged a look with the others. 

The Elder of Haldasha spoke up. “I can imagine its effect on the imperial scout no doubt sent to find it. On the emperor himself. I can imagine them finding us here and destroying everything we worked so hard to reclaim. You are aware of the risks. If you feel it necessary to take this precaution then do so, but know that if you have not made progress in three days, we will send another Hunter to take your place.”

His elder nodded. “I agree. Tensions are escalating between the empire and the allied resistance. This object could be powerful enough to throw all of our efforts into chaos. We may already be too late.”

 _Three days_. Thirty-three Grandalian hours. He would have to use the Collective’s network of Birds – informants, spies, and observers, named after the creature that once flourished on their homeworld – to his advantage. He had succeeded in less time, but the empire was undoubtedly already investigating the ship crash. They may also already have the Light, but – no. Something told him he would _know_ if that were the case. 

Kravitz’s jaw clenched. Squaring his shoulders, he tipped his head respectfully. “I accept.”

Kravitz left the elders determined to get the search underway. The crystals that grew from the cavern walls pulsed with light as he passed through the main corridor. The cavern itself hummed – a low, resonant sound that reminded him of some great machine more than the natural drone of an inner asteroid. It had a soothing effect on him, and he couldn’t ignore how bone-weary he felt. Days of covert investigation, multiple opera performances, climbing around building tops, chasing down the flute after the distraction of the crash—it all threatened to catch up to him. He needed rest. Especially since he’d likely need to have his wits about him to resist the sway of some enigmatic light. 

But _three days_? He wouldn’t let some other Bird take over this task. An hour of rest would have to do for now.

He headed for the teleporter bay, foregoing his typical stop by the cantina. There were a few other Hunters and a couple of Birds standing around in conversation. He greeted them briefly and stepped up to the teleporter that would take him to Grandalia City. He uttered the incantation, and the sigil tattoo between his shoulders grew warm. The cavern around him disappeared. 

He reappeared in the shadows of a small gated garden adjacent to the Sickle and Thorn, a harbor-side tavern where travelers, starfarers, and the citywatch alike gathered between destinations. The bartender and innkeeper were also Birds for the Collective. He considered stopping by to sit with a pint and listen to the gossip about the crash. Perhaps initiate an intel-gathering chain with the bartender. But the porch and walkways around the inn were teeming with Imperial guards. Tomorrow then, once they thinned out the patrols. _If they would._

In the soft hours of predawn, Grandalia was quiet enough that Kravitz could hear the creak of lightsail ships moored at the dockyard nearby. Water gently lapped at their hulls, and marshland creatures called out to one another in the last moments of night that remained. 

A curfew patrol carriage hovered down the main road through the city, its lamp swaying a wide arc from one side of the street to another. Otherwise, the sidewalks were empty. As he suspected would happen, a curfew had been put into place. Standard procedure for a sector breech.

Kravitz waited for the carriage to move out of range before he slipped along the dark shopfronts where shadows still claimed the corners and alleyways between. Another patrol carriage eased past before he crossed the road, darted between buildings, and slipped into the park he’d come through earlier when tracking down the flute. The city watch were stationed along the paths there, too, so he kept to the trees and ornamental shrubs until he safely cleared the park. Just a few blocks to go and he would be close to home. 

As he approached his building, he caught the movement of silhouettes in the glow of a streetlight. A cluster of imperial guards were gathered there for a shift change. Kravitz swore inwardly, and ducked behind the stone barrier of a stairway leading into a municipal building. He listened as well as he could, considering the enhance-senses charm had long worn off and he had no reserves to cast a new one. _Another reason to rest_.

“They all survived,” the shortest and most decorated guard said. “Seven on board, and there’s a rumor that two of them are elves.”

“ _Elves?_ That’s just… it’s impossible,” said a guard with plain epaulets. "Whoever told you that's been snorting stardust."

“The whole bloody lot of it seems impossible if you ask me. Think about it. When’s a ship gonna get this close without us knowing about it way ahead of time?”

One of the curfew patrol carriages hovered past and drowned out their conversation. At least Kravitz knew that all the ship’s crew was alive. He pressed himself against the stones as the carriage lantern swung a beam of light into the alley, missing his boots by mere inches. The guards switched places, and the carriage glided on its way.

Kravitz waited, but the guard left behind didn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. He had to enter his flat the back way. As he ducked along the shadows, a puddle on the edge of the lantern’s glow caught his attention. Or rather, something – several things – inside of it did. He blinked and peered closer. Whatever he’d seen was no longer there. _Fine_. Three hours of trance rest. Sleeping would be better, but he hadn’t the time.

Kravitz slunk around back and stealthily climbed the wrought iron fire escapes that hung in zig zags from the apartment’s old stone walls. Once safely inside, a yawn overtook him. He lived in a small flat on the third floor of a building overlooking the marsh to the west and the industrial quarter to the east. The apartment had once belonged to his entire family, but it was his alone now. He moved to the window, let his fingers brush along the keys of the old piano as he passed, and pulled the curtain aside slightly. In the distance beyond the asymmetrical, hard lines of warehouses, beyond the city walls and the slums, a dark groove had been carved across a field of emmer. 

At the head of this trench, a ship light flickered through the predawn haze. His eyes adjusted further until he spotted several dark shapes surrounding what he assumed to be the alien ship. He could recognize an imperial trap formation when he saw one. Kravitz just hoped that whatever web the empire had woven to keep them on their side, it’d be an easy one to dismantle.

But – _elves_? This might’ve been misinformation. Elves were long gone, if they even existed at all. The majority of people in the Stonesea were half elves, like himself. Named as such because the legends say they were descended from elves, but Kravitz assumed this was a fairytale. It was a nice thing to imagine, that in the distant past his ancestors were magical beings. It didn’t seem to make a difference. His magical ability was no more or less potent than anyone else in the Stonesea. Whether they existed or not in the distant past, they're not likely to exist anymore. Like songbirds and horses and other creatures, nothing could've survived the homeworld's demise.

Kravitz left the window and sat before his family altar to Kelemvor. He lit a candle to recite his nightly prayers, and the flame slowly faded as he succumbed to a fitful trance.

* * *

A loud metallic clang startled Taako from his sleep trance. He groaned and turned over. Another clang made him tense and grind his teeth. Pale morning light cut a sharp angle across his face from the curtain he’d drawn over the window, and this was what finally got him to sit up. 

“What time is it?” he groaned at Lup, arm slung over his eyes, before remembering she no longer shared a room with him. She’d moved into Barry’s room a few cycles ago, and now he slept alone for the first time in… well he’d lost count. The decades in caravans and on the streets, the dorm at the institute, the Starblaster. They’d been ever-present in each other’s living spaces. He couldn’t be blamed for that phantom memory of her, that intrinsic feeling she should be there when she was not.

He stared across where her bed used to be to the heavy wooden desk that took its place. It was a hulking thing, better suited for a manor study, which is where he’d found it in the last cycle. It was covered in materials and books for his spellwork, along with trinkets from other worlds and things he brought on the trip that no longer held much meaning for him after so many years. He wasn’t exactly sentimental, but things kept ending up in his pockets and if nobody seemed to notice, he certainly wasn’t going to bring it to their attention.

He stretched, swiped a robe to drape around himself, and left the room to find he was the last to wake. The bathroom was occupied, probably by Magnus. He’d have to do his skincare routine later. Lup was in the galley looking much like how he felt as she cracked eggs into a bowl. Davenport and Magnus worked on moving debris from the cockpit to a pile outside, and Barry had his head stuck under the primary console. Not Magnus in the bathroom then. Merle or Lucretia, then.

“Enjoy your beauty sleep, babe?” asked Lup, not looking up from her task. She yawned against the back of her hand. 

Taako echoed her yawn. “It was fine. Hey, what time is it? Light looks a bit weird outside.”

“Yeah it’s like almost afternoon already. Turns out a full day is only eleven hours here so we had to get started.”

“Fuck, I guess that tracks," he mumbled. "Smaller planet and all. They could’ve not kept us up so late asking stupid questions.” Taako joined her in the galley and put a kettle on for tea and coffee. He grabbed blackberries and peaches from the counter and began slicing the peaches. “Where’s Creesh?”

“Outside talking with that Lieutenant guy.” She sat the bowl of eggs by the stove and pulled a loaf of bread from the breadbox. “Pain perdu?”

“Nah, gimme some eggs. Three.”

She did so, and put the bread away. “They apparently guarded our ship all night. Can you believe that?”

“Well, yeah, Lup. It’s a fuckin’ empire. They’re gonna be up our asses the whole time.” Taako transfigured some flour into sugar and readied some of each in measuring bowls. He searched through the cabinet for salt and vanilla, then pulled out a mixing bowl.

Lup watched him for a moment and made a noise of recognition. She turned on the oven, and grabbed a cast iron pan to put on a burner. Once it was warmed up, she cut off a few pads of butter to add to the pan. 

Taako switched places with her and laid the peaches neatly at the bottom of the skillet. He plucked a bottle of bourbon from the booze shelf, and poured a shot over the peaches, then sprinkled blackberries and a pinch of cinnamon over them. As the sweet, buttery aroma filled the room, he thought back to the questions they’d been asked the night before. Most were typical. What is the purpose of your mission? Where are you from? How did you come by the Stonesea? That kind of thing.

But a few had put him on edge. _What is your average daily magical consumption rate? Will you comply with Imperial Code 648a that states every magic-user born or otherwise visiting the Stonesea must have a permit to use magic? What is your view on political engagement with host communities? Do you consent to providing a sample of blood and saliva to determine your overall health before mingling with the resident population?_

There was no fuckin’ way he’d agree to the blood or the permit, but that led to his placement on a _forbidden from using magic within imperial boundaries_ list and iron bracers. Barry knew how to remove them without triggering alarms, though, and yeah, the blood thing was suspicious, but their reason was hard to argue against. Alien pathogens. Frankly, in decades of cycles they hadn’t thought a whole lot about their general microbial biome overmuch. Unless Barry had that shit covered and Taako’d been too uninterested to find out. 

He waved a hand, and floated the fruit pan off the heat to an unused burner. Took out another pan for Lup’s scrambled eggs. Some of his thoughts must’ve escaped his mouth, because he belatedly registered that Lup asked something through the dying sizzle of caramelizing peaches.

“What’s that, Lu?”

“I asked what did you say?” 

Lup had left a hovering whisk charmed with a high speed spin over the bowl for him. It was always a relief to cook with a competent person. He grabbed milk from the icebox and added it into the bowl along with the other ingredients. The whisk blended away, infusing the mixture with air bubbles. 

“Oh. I was just thinking. Iron is an interesting choice, right? I mean, we’re not fae. What’s that about?” 

Lup leaned against the counter opposite him. “Yeah. Barry did a few tests on the bracers and that’s really all they were. Cold-forged iron. But there’s a thin band of something else through the center. He’s not able to determine its purpose, but it’s _something, something_ polymers. He’ll tell you.”

“Well, here’s my thinking,” Taako said as he checked the batter. Needed a bit more air, so he left it spinning. "They asked about our average magic use, how we had to have some permit. Seemed real concerned about it. Maybe magic’s in short supply here, and they think elves have some kinda unfettered link to it. Would explain why we got these and not anyone else.”

“I don’t know, Taako. When he has a chance, let Barry show you the readings on this place we recorded before the crash. There’s a fairly abundant amount of magic out there.”

“Interesting…” Taako frowned and gently grasped the whisk from the air and set it in the sink. It kept spinning, making an awful clatter, until Lup broke her focus on the spell. Taako poured the batter over the fruit and shoved it into the oven.

It still bothered him all through breakfast, and led to him keeping mostly silent – calculating his responses – as everyone devoured the eggs and puffed pancake. 

“That was delicious, god damn,” Lucretia said, putting down her fork. 

“I know, right?” Taako said with a grin. “It’d be better if I caramelized the peaches in the oven but it wasn’t pre-heated, and I hear we’re pressed for time on this shitty planet.”

Lup punched him lightly in the arm, which he deserved, but he still gave her an affronted look. 

“Thanks, Lucretia,” Lup said.

“Yeah, about that.” Lucretia stood and opened a journal she’d kept in her lap through the meal. The chatter slowly stopped as everyone turned their attention towards her. “All right everyone, we have a lot of work to do in order to get the ship back up and running.” She paused. Her eyes skimmed over the notes she held in her subtly trembling hands. She took a breath and nodded to herself. “So. We’re currently negotiating things with the Lieutenant Commander, who seems to be more interested in having us go with him to the imperial palace than anything. We stressed that, all due respect, there’s no time to have tea with the emperor. We must conduct our research and be on our way. I did not find it helpful to mention the fact that this place is gonna be the target of a massive, indescribably destructive force in a year from now. One thing at a time. First priority is the ship.”

“Oh yeah,” Barry broke in, “the Light detector equipment is wrecked.” 

“Shoot, that’s bad.” Lucretia wrote in her journal. 

“The bond engine is still good, thank god,” Barry added. 

“Wonderful. And on the matter of ship repairs, Davenport gave me a list of needed supplies. If you know of any other damaged items now is the time to inventory that. We will have temporary papers to allow us entry to the city by tomorrow, and—” She looked over at Taako and Lup. “The elves must be escorted by imperial guards at all times. For your protection, as they phrased it.”

Lup snorted. “I think not.”

Taako shrugged. “Fine, let ‘em. See how long they last babysitting Taako. Like _that’s_ ever worked out for anyone.”

Lucretia smiled at him. “He also mentioned that we're all clear of dangerous pathogens, and he has something he'd like us to wear to help us blend in. Some sort of perception filter. Now, I don’t like the idea of any of us being followed around by imperial guards or wearing some kind of imperial-issued tech without it being fully inspected.”

“Do you have it? I could take a look,” Barry said.

“No, not yet anyway.” She sighed. “In any case, Finley assures that this is protocol for extreme circumstances and not common practice across the empire. The perception filter's simply a way to prevent causing a stir. According to him, elves are considered legendary beings, and some even worship them."

Taako sat up at this. So that explained his weird reaction to their ears. “Oh, really? I could work with that. If people think we’re, ah,” he put his hand to his chest, “ _legendary beings_ , then maybe we can play a game of persuasion. Get people on our side, have ‘em take a shine to us over the empire, know what I’m saying? Then we can announce that we’re here to get our holy space light back and we need their help.”

“That's good, Taako, I like it," Lucretia said. "Let’s table that for an option after the ship is repaired. We’re useless if we can’t get it up and running at full capacity again." She checked her notes and continued. “Finley mentioned there’s an artisan guild conglomerate that might be able to help us with our repair needs. We’ll have to adapt the Starblaster to work with the magic node system they have in place across the Stonesea so we don’t end up in another crash. They want us to also have the Starblaster moved as soon as possible to the docks by the city where it will make repairs easier, and work can begin on assessing the extent of the damage to the crops. This is considered a high priority request. We’ve stirred shit up here, it seems.” 

“Really? The Hunger’s scouts will be here in only a few days,” said Barry. “We don’t have time for this shit.”

Lucretia had a tight look in her eyes. “These crops feed people, and we’re not going to ignore that.”

“I’ll help with the crops,” offered Merle. “Interested to see how they grow ‘em here anyway.”

“Thank you, ” Lucretia said with relief. "If you have to persuade them that we'll help them when we return, then so be it."

Lup gave Merle a thumb’s up. "You're cool with lying."

Merle laughed. "I mean, shit. I'd prefer not to, but wouldn't be the first time."

“Hold on," Magnus said, who until this moment had been eating his third plate of food. "I don’t like the idea of working with the empire at all. The Light of Creation would be something they’d want too. The people of this plane could be in more danger. Aren’t we worried about them maybe, I dunno, trying to steal it from under us?”

“Yes, of course, but you all know Davenport," she said evenly, but her gaze slipped back to her notes. "He will do whatever it takes for us to succeed, even if that means not ruffling imperial feathers so we can get off this baby planet. It’s going to be hard to convince him otherwise. In any case, let us just take this one thing at a time. Tomorrow morning, we'll head in a small group to the city and find this artisan guild conglomerate or whatever. Barry, Lup, Taako – I’d like the three of you to join me for that, please. For now, let's work on clearing up the mess so we can get repairs underway.”

“You got it, boss,” Magnus said. He stood and got to work. Others followed suit.

"

Taako was slower to get to his feet, but as he did, he smiled at Lucretia. "Good job, by the way, ‘Creesh. You’re killin’ this leader gig." 

A warm look settled in her eyes, and her hands stopped fidgeting with the journal.

* * *

The following morning, which was only an _unconscionable_ eight hours later, Taako left the Starblaster with Lup and Barry to join Lucretia on her trip to the city. He was still sore from hours of moving shit around and holding shit in place while others more handy with power tools did their thing. Still groggy from truncated sleep. Still jumpy from their crash. But he admittedly was curious enough to get his ass in gear for a trip into town. 

The dim early morning sunlight cast the landscape in soft blue-violet hues, like in winter between sunrises back home. Even the pale dirt looked like snow. The nearby emmer fields moved in languid waves with a steady breeze, the same breeze that kept Taako’s hair fluttering around his face. It was nice, for a world that almost killed them.

One of the imperial hovercrafts floated silently a few feet above the ground next to them. It was similar in concept to the Starblaster – sailboatlike with a deck and portholes along the outside, though much smaller and fitted with a mainsail and three headsails of gossamer material. 

The exterior appeared to be made of lacquered wood, nothing like the sleek silvery metal of the Starblaster’s hull. An oblong glass dome over a portion of the cabin was slid open to allow passengers to enter, and retractable ramp extended down to the ground. How it survived the vacuum of space inspired an excitable and extremely nerdy discussion between Barry and Lup. Taako wasn’t about to let it take him into space to find out, so he frankly didn’t give a shit. 

Finley observed their chatter with an amused expression. He put his hand on the hull, and gave it a proud sort of pat. “This here is a lightsail ship. Fitted with the most up-to-date technology and coated in a radiation-deflecting substance, and, well. I’m afraid I'm not the best person to have a go at explaining.” He looked up to the sail, its faint, honeycomb pattern glimmered in the soft sunlight. “Most ships in the Stonesea have lightsails, which allows them to use the sun’s light as a power source. As we mentioned to Lucretia, your ship will need these in order to operate in the Stonesea. Your ship’s particular type of engine pulls on our magical node system and triggers defense mechanisms we have in place.” 

Taako looked at Barry, whose eyes were tight behind his glasses. A line formed between his brows and he kept tugging at his ear. His _skeptical-and-bad-at-hiding-it_ face.

Guards approached the group at Finley's signal, and gave him a box, which he opened carefully. He withdrew a small bracelet—a single black bead on a copper-colored wire that moved as though made of tiny links—and held it up for them to see.

“In lieu of papers, as typical of cross-asteroid visitors, these bracelets will mark you as official guests of His Imperial Majesty, and you will be given deference during your visit," Finley explained. He then addressed Taako and Lup specifically. "Your bracelets have a bead that is charged with perception-altering magic. As long as it’s daylight, your distinctly elven traits will go unnoticed by others so that you may move freely without drawing unwanted attention to yourselves.”

“Oh great, because being followed around by imperial guards won’t draw any attention at all.” Taako said as he was given his bracelet.

"That is a safety precaution, of course." Finley didn't miss a beat.

Lup took hers and handed it off to Barry. “Thanks. We’re just going to have a quick look at 'em.”

Finley’s brow arched, but he didn't seem overly concerned. "Very well."

Barry inspected both his and Lup's bracelets, gave one a taste, and handed them back. “I have no idea without taking it to the lab,” he said quietly enough for only Taako and Lup to hear. “Wear them for now and when we come back I’ll take a better look at them.”

“It’s kinda shitty-looking," Taako announced coolly. It wasn't true, he mostly wanted to see how far he could push this jabroni. "Couldn’t they make it nicer if I’d have to wear it in public.”

Finley sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Aha_. There was some frustration. Taako's suspicions were starting to rise, as fancy mini-moon cop seemed far less nervous today than he had the day before. And it wasn't that Finley's nerves had seemed too out of the ordinary for having just been ordered to confront aliens in a crashed ship, it's that today he was exceedingly less nervous. Unless it was the holy elf thing, and he lost his religion. An elf atheist. Aelfthiest?

“Apologies," Finley said, lifting his chin, a polite smile sweeping away the hints of frustration. "They are not meant to be fashionable. They serve an important purpose.”

The others slipped on their bracelets. Lup more hesitantly. The moment the band tightened to her wrist, the luminescence in her green eyes faded. Taako watched the ethereal sheen in her hair dim like someone sucked the light out of it. Her ears became shorter and only slightly tapered, like a half elf. Her skin maintained the light brown tone, but her freckles didn't glimmer. Her facial features still obviously Lup in essence, but uncanny valley Lup. Less of the elven sharpness in her cheeks and chin. Taako didn't like it one fucking bit. 

“Oh no, oh god," Taako said, recoiling. "I can’t – I can’t wear it.”

"Is it really that bad?” Lup asked. At least her voice sounded the same.

Barry kissed her plain, ordinary cheek. “Nah. You’re still beautiful, babe.”

Lup smiled at Barry, then looked back to Taako. “Come on, Taako, you’re vain but like, not _that_ vain. You’ll still look good,” Lup said nudging him with her elbow. “Maybe even rugged handsome.”

“UGH. Fine. Rugged isn't really my steeze, though.” Taako put on his bracelet. It gently tightened around his wrist, the bead forming slight indentation in his skin. 

Lup snorted. “Wow, look at that. My brother has pores.”

Taako rubbed his eye with a prominent middle finger.

“Now if you’re ready to board," Finley said primly, "we must be on our way. Daylight fades fast." 

They boarded the lightsail ship one at a time. There were rows of plush seats on the top deck behind the bridge, like an extended carriage, and a closed hatch that probably went below deck. Barry and Lucretia took their seats and began to buckle the seat harnesses. Taako and Lup sat behind them. Funny how Barry, and probably also Lucretia, always had a sense for when Taako and Lup were in a mood to conspire or commiserate with each other. And that's exactly what they did, about what sort of clown carriage this thing might be, and how many guards could be below deck. 

Finley climbed on board and eased past them in the narrow space to sit up at the helm with the ship's captain. The glass dome only slid into place halfway overhead, enough to act as a windshield, but not enclose them entirely. Taako pulled his hood over his head in preparation. There were clicks and subtle grinds of some mechanism within the ship pulling in the ramp. A disorienting sway of the ship made Taako close his eyes. Then it was in motion. 

Taako leaned forward to whisper to Barry. “Do you feel safe on this thing? Because if you do, I do.”

“Um, to be honest I feel sick to my stomach.”

“Well that tells me nothing, my man. Your stomach’s a fuckin’ sack of wet cheesecloth.” 

“Yeah, fine, I feel safe. Anticipating a bit of seasickness I guess.”

Taako patted him on the shoulder and sat back. “You can make it, Barold.”

Lup smiled over at Taako. “So can you.”

Within minutes they were speeding over the land toward the city in the distance. The engine ran so quiet they heard the rustle of dust the ship kicked up as it flew. Taako looked overhead at the translucent sails. Little trails of shimmering light pulsed along the honeycomb pattern like sparks through circuitry. The ship lifted up higher and gained speed. He gave up on holding his hood against his head and muttered a few choice complaints about the wind messing up his hair. They really should use the glass dome. What if there were bugs? They soon passed over a bay that cradled the city of Grandalia. Taako had no expectations for what the city might look like up close. They’d been to so many places that it could’ve been anything at all. But this one surprised him. 

All of it was draped in green growing things. Gardens of flowering plants hung from rooftops and ran along window ledges. Villas had been built around trees, their branches honored in the architecture. It was like a place out of a storybook. Some buildings sprawled along avenues with gilded eaves and carved flourishes to mimic the nature above, and others crowded together, tiled roofs and heavy wooden beams in place of statues and gold. There were tall buildings with platforms for the lightsail ships, others with towers, spires, sweeping bridges. It was beautiful, and not what he'd expect on a glorified asteroid so far from its sun.

The lightsail ship glided in for a gentle water landing at a wide harbor. Taako's stomach dropped and he clutched the seat harness in his fists, the sensation of crashing still too fresh in his mind. Once the ship had moored, they gingerly disembarked and stretched on the wide wooden dock. Taako and Lup took a moment to tame their flyaways, and Barry leaned against a pylon, looking paler than usual. Lup went over to tend to him, which gave Taako a moment to inspect the three story building at the end of the dock. It had a two-story, wrap-around porch with swings, and plants grew along the eaves and draped down from its roof. A painted sign among the leaves read _Sickle and Thorn_. 

“Welcome to Grandalia’s capital city of the same name,” Finley said. “Your guides await you at the tavern there.” He nodded toward two city guards with navy-and-gold finery. They stared forward, utterly still and expressionless even as Lup waved at them. “They will escort you to the artisan and merchants quarter where you’ll find most of your supply needs.”

"So, not imperial guard escorts, then?" asked Lucretia.

"Your imperial retinue awaits street-side." His smile was forced kindness. 

Taako discreetly uttered the incantation of a detect magic spell, trying to get a feel for his surroundings, but as soon as the words left his lips, a ring of searing pain encircled his wrist. He hissed and looked down at the bracelet he’d been given. Watched it fade from a glowing red back to its former coppery tone. Beneath the band, his skin bore a thin line of blistered flesh. 

Finley continued to give them a primer on basic Grandalian norms and etiquette, but Taako wasn't paying attention. He did not, however, miss the slip of a glance Finley gave him. 

Lup leaned in to whisper under Finley’s continued instructions. “You okay?” 

Taako showed her his wrist. “That’s a noperooni.” 

Lup frowned and shot Finley a glare. “Keep it on the down-low for now. We need to get away from him.”

Taako nodded and covered his wrist with his sleeve, wincing a little as the fabric brushed against the burn. Obviously this thing did more than Lieutenant dipshit let on. His attention shifted back toward the _Sickle and Thorn,_ more on edge than ever before. The curtain of a top floor window closed a half second later.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @athimbleful and @desiree-harding-fic for the beta help! 
> 
> Warnings ahead: Senses of dread, eeriness.

Lup stopped listening to whatever else Finley had to say. His voice faded out at the sight of that red mark around Taako’s wrist. Anger arose, tempered only by the dread that followed. She covertly searched her own bracelet for a latch. It had none. She tried to pull it over her wrist, but it wouldn’t budge. Would that happen to all of them? Or just Taako, because he refused to the permit? With a shudder, she looked out over the wide harbor and its many sailboats. No gulls wheeled overhead or perched on the ship masts. There were no ospreys diving for fish, or songbirds flitting over rooftops. It unsettled her. Like all the animals sensed something bad might happen, so they’d already found places to hide. A huge storm _was_ on the way, but in no other world had the wildlife sensed it so far in advance. There’s always a first, she supposed.

“Lup,” Barry said with a gentle nudge. “We’re going.”

"Coming."

Unable to shake the eerie feeling, she searched the water for minnows or crabs. Some comforting sign of life. A school of tiny fish darted playfully in and out of view. Their scales glinted in the sunlight like flecks of glitter caught in unseen currents. Lup smiled faintly, then hurried to catch up with the others. The two citywatch guards up ahead had their halberds crossed to block the way. Ribbons tied below the halberd's blades fluttered in a low breeze. How pretty, Lup thought. They’ve probably never used them in battle. 

"'Sup?" she asked Taako as she caught up to him. He had given the tavern a narrow-eyed glance.

"We’re being watched, surprising no one.”

Lup followed his gaze. “Watched or _observed_?”

“Both, for sure. We’re already big time celebs here. A mysterious spaceship crashes, aliens alive on board. We’re being escorted by the fuckin' emperor's retinue. I bet half of ‘em think it’s propaganda or a hoax, and the other think we’re here to usher them into the next age of cosmic enlightenment.” Despite his conjecture, Taako flashed his best smile and waved at the gathering of onlookers who had come out to the tavern porches and apartment balconies. They waved back, and some turned to each other to whisper excitedly. A few did look a little on the worried side, though. 

"Move along, now. Back to your business," Finley said as they passed the huddled crowd. He moved to stand in the middle, so that he forced more space between them and the Starblaster group.

“Hey, guys!” Taako shouted through cupped hands to the ones who were clearly hesitant to disperse. “Taako’s gonna swing by later to see what’s on the ol’ menu, so save us a table, kapeesh?”

That brought a fresh wave of murmurs. Lup couldn't help a laugh. It was good that one of them was in a mood to stir up trouble. She wasn't sure yet whether it would be wise for her to join in, and she didn't like that she'd become the kind of person to worry about such things. _It's this place. Has to be._

“If daylight affords us the opportunity, that is,” Finley said loud enough for the crowd to hear, but without looking their way. He kept those steely eyes on Lup and Taako, and that thin-lipped smile broad enough to seem real.

“Listen,” Taako drawled through his own fake smile, “your little bracelet’s not gonna come between me and what could be the best fantasy fish n’chips this side of the, uh, asteroid empire or whatever it is you got going on here.”

"Yeah," Lup said. A little banter wouldn't hurt. "All that crashing worked up quite the ol' appetite." 

"Perhaps we can arrange a luncheon there tomorrow," Finley offered without giving them a chance to respond, for he was already heading up to talk to the guards. They pulled back their halberds and turned to lead the way. Finley waved them onward. “I strongly advise you to wait until early tomorrow. Now, please follow them and mind the step.”

Lucretia fell in place behind Finley, quiet, though determined. She had the strap of her journal satchel gripped so tightly, Lup could see her knuckles. She wanted to move up to talk to her, but couldn't shake this worry over what had happened to Taako. It was, in a way, a nice sensation, bittersweet, to feel torn over two people she cared for so dearly. Her younger self would say she was lucky.

“I’m with you guys," Barry said, following after Lucretia. “Dunno if they have potatoes here, but boy could I use a nice basket of salty fried food right about now.”

“Hell yeah. Barry knows what's up.” Taako grinned.

Lup agreed silently. After the last cycle of eating nothing but assorted pastes of varying degrees of yuck, she was ready for a world with good culinary taste. So far, this one had aesthetic appeal out the ass, so, it was promising.

The guards led them away from the harbor, past the tavern and its gated garden, and over to an imperial stagecoach that waited in front of an inn. The coach looked much like the ones back home — a fancy, shellacked wooden cart with a sturdy frame and canopy overhead. But there were no wheels, no harness, and no horses. In fact, not a single carriage in sight was pulled by anything at all. Instead, they hovered quietly along the roadway, and swayed a little as passengers climbed aboard.

Two more guards stood in wait — Imperial, these. They didn't even make eye contact with the citywatch, and Lup made a mental note. Always good to feel out the power nuances in a place like this. Their halberd-wielding citywatch chaperons interacted stiffly with them, then assumed their places around the hovercoach. A valet opened the rose-and-star-crested door and gestured for them to enter.

Lucretia had a journal out and was already writing before the door had even shut. Taako settled next to her and leaned into the corner for a nap.

Lup scooted close to Barry on their side. “Hey, let’s get samples of this lightsail stuff. I wanna know how it ticks.”

“Already on the list. We’re getting the Starblaster outfitted with one.” Barry showed her. It was written there above his hastily scribbled handwriting that read: _please don’t wander off. It’s weird here._

Lup kissed his cheek and whispered. “Love you.”

“Lup…” His cheeks went pink, despite the wariness. She'd never get tired of that.

“If there’s a street market, is it really wandering off?”

He laughed. “Uh, yeah, _especially_ if it involves a street market.”

Taako opened his eyes to narrow slits. “Sorry, in advance, my man. I’ll go ahead and put it out there that it’ll be my fault, for sure, but she’ll be fine, because she can fuckin’ take care of herself.” He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the carriage wall. 

“I didn’t — I wasn’t trying to — I, uh… _fuck_.” Barry sighed.

“I know, babe.” She patted his cheek. It was cute when he fretted over her like that.

They drifted down the main road past several multi-story buildings with elegant first floor shops. Curling, organic patterns were carved throughout the surrounding architecture. Flowering vines and other ornamental plants grew in windowsills, climbed up vibrantly painted walls, wove through wrought iron gates and framed doorways. Each building was designed with unique charm, but somehow it all worked together to an immaculate degree. Beautiful in a way she felt she could never touch.

People went about their day in lavish, filigreed clothes paired with decorative corsets and frilly trim. Hardly anyone went without a lacy bonnet or tricorn. Those that didn't, wore their hair in elaborate styles woven through with ribbons and pinned in silver combs. Each person walked with practiced grace, and scarcely interacted with anyone else. If they had things to do, they weren’t in much of a hurry to do them. Quite the opposite of what Lup would’ve assumed for a world with such short days. She looked at the hats and hairstyles again — they had feathers or flowers, sometimes both, sometimes neither. But, _feathers_. There were no birds in the harbor, but there must be somewhere.

Barry slid his hand in hers and she smiled, but kept her gaze out of the window. She could learn so much about this place just by observing an ordinary day. But as soon as she began to pick out behavior patterns in all the crowded elegance, their route shifted, and within a couple of blocks everything changed. Gone were the artfully arranged blossoms and decorative greenery. In their places were plots of herbs and berry vines. Wide alleys hosted communal gardens where people were bent over with baskets to gather the produce. 

The buildings were different, too. Nestled and narrow with fold-out shutters and balconies. People wore a wider variety of styles in jewel tones and delightful patterns. They conversed on doorsteps. Walked and laughed together. Children chased each other along the sidewalk. Lup felt far more comfortable here. 

Barry began to discreetly inspect her bracelet, which drew her attention away from the outside world. She watched him for a time. He pushed his glasses up and chewed his lip in that adorable way that made her want to kiss him senseless.

“Sorry,” he muttered when he tugged a little too sharply. 

He took a few alchemy tools from his pouch and scraped off tiny flecks of the bracelet’s black bead. Lup watched him work, now a bit too interested in how gentle he was with delicate things. He carefully scraped the flecks into a small vial with clear liquid. A stopper went in next, and he offered it to Lup.

“Hold this.”

She held out her palm and closed her fingers around the vial. It felt warm in her hand, and she could barely see the tiny, floating black flecks. Barry returned the tools to his belt pouch and plucked the vial from her palm. 

“It’ll take a minute.” He kissed her knuckles. “Or an hour, depending, and then it might not be a clear answer. Kinda need my lab for that.”

“Mmhm, can’t wait,” she said with a coy smile. 

He looked at her, confused. 

“Oh, I was thinking of something else, if you know what I mean.”

Barry laughed nervously. “Y-yeah?”

“Ugh, get a fuckin’ room.” Taako groaned and sat forward. “And I’m awake now, ‘cos I sure as hell don’t wanna accidentally dream about whatever’s going on over there.”

Lucretia simply shook her head and turned a page in her journal. 

“Oh, _my bad._ Sorry I have a boyfriend and you don’t,” Lup quipped. 

“Who says I want a boyfriend? Not me.”

“Sure. It’s been like, what, fifty cycles since you last yearned? I think you might finally be getting jealous.”

“Nobody is jealous of your nerd love, _Lup,”_ Taako said, popping the ‘p.’ “And whether I’ve yearned is my business.”

“You yearn to yearn all the time.”

“This is getting homophobic; I’m your _brother_.”

“Hey, uh, I think we’re here,” Barry cut in.

They pulled slowly past a wide alleyway with a bustling street market just beyond. Lup and Taako both practically pressed their faces against the carriage windows to see. There were so many people there to get lost in. So many crafts and hats and clothes and baubles. And the _food._ Lup imagined herself slipping through side doors and around distracted knots of people for even the smallest glimpse of what scrumptious goodies could be waiting there.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. _Of course_ there would be one right here,” Barry said. “Nice knowing you.”

Lucretia laughed. “Maybe it won’t hurt for just a little while?”

Lup winked at Lucretia. “See, she’s got my back.”

Barry smiled and squeezed Lup's leg. "We can go after we deal with business stuff, how's that?"

"Mmm."

The carriage stopped outside of the Hall of Guilds at last. It was a massive structure that took up nearly two city blocks. A footbridge on the third floor linked the two main buildings together over the alley. Banners hung off its side, their gently swaying shapes depicting insignias of the various tradeshops found within. 

“Damn. The whole institute could fit in that one side,” Lup said, voice soft with awe. She looked over at Barry, but he didn’t seem so impressed. In fact, he looked positively terrified. He ran a hand through his hair and shifted his stance. The abruptness of his change in demeanor made her stomach drop.

“Hey, you all right, Bear?” Then she realized he was staring at the small vial in his palm.

He waited until the guards were distracted with who would keep watch by the front door, and leaned in close. “I think I know why you have to wear that thing.”

* * *

Kravitz slid casually through the thick market crowd and made his way to the Hall of Guilds. Today was like any other in the merchant district, though murmurs of the crash and its survivors permeated every conversation. Curiously, there wasn’t a single mention of elves. This lent some validity to the claim he overheard the night before. The empire was more likely to keep that truth a secret rather than let an unsubstantiated, chaos-inspiring rumor escape. 

Food vendors lined the wide alleyway from the market square to the main road, tempting him with smells of grilled meat and sweet pastries at every turn. His stomach growled, but he had no time for it. His focus honed in on a lead—a Bird at the tavern had alerted him that the offworlders were heading this way.

Kravitz entered the building through a side door tucked beside a busy frydough vendor. He sought out Ayana’s workstation just inside. It was… a mess as usual, but not a careless one. Hers was a well-worn and well-loved space. In addition to being one of the best damn artificers in five sectors, Ayana was an informant for the Ancestor Collective, and one that Kravitz depended on most for his various missions. No one knew how to subweave magic and bypass Imperial arcane monitoring like she could. Many of his specialized gadgets were invented by her.

More than that though, she was like a sister to him. Her father Darunell, the high guild master at the Hall, had done a lot to help him after he lost his family. He’d even trained here as an apprentice for a time until he quickly learned that he preferred quieter work. The repetitive mechanical thrum of machines, the hiss of hydraulics and all manner of clanging and burning smells around him would drive Kravitz spare if he had to spend too much time here.

Grey daylight struggled through the tall windows to illuminate the busy workstation floor. The entire place was crowded with shelves of material components, crafting tools, and books upon books upon scrolls upon messy stacks of paper. Several workers shouted over the noise as they orchestrated lifting the propulsion unit of a lightsail ship by crane to another floor for repairs. There was indeed a lot going on. A lot to distract the newcomers. He hoped they wouldn’t be so distracted as to test his ability to gather much needed information. 

Kravitz tapped the side of a lamp on the partition that separated Ayana’s area from another artificer’s. The light flickered on under a green and blue stained glass lampshade. It illuminated a complicated and dangerous-looking gadget on a large workbench behind him. It had a trigger, a wide barrel, and he wanted nothing to do with whatever it might be. The dull glow of green crystals in a central chamber increased his wariness. Put a viola in his hands, and he’d be golden. But that… weapon or whatever it might be could stay as far from him as possible.

Off to the side of Ayana’s bench was a smaller table where she had left out a few simple components for him to piece together. It was an easy project. Something to do with his hands to help him blend in as he waited. Ayana knew he was here to gather information on the otherworlders. She did not know of his mission to find the Light, and especially not how much it… concerned him... to have to go after it.

If only he could just ask them. In his line of work, he wished for this often. _Do you know about that weird Light? Is it dangerous? Why did it make me want to go after it so badly? Would you like tea? Do you like to play skipping stones?_ But the empire had listeners everywhere just waiting to pounce on anyone affiliated with the Collective. He couldn’t risk blowing his cover. He couldn’t risk being captured and tortured for information and jettisoned from the Stonesea in a coffin pod that would keep him alive for as long as his body could go without food and water. Death by delirium. By staring down the vastness of space until he drew his last brittle breath. To think that his mother… He had to blend in, he had to disappear. Normally a Bird, such as Ayana, would carry out this sort of task, but this time even they couldn’t know.

“Oi, Kravitz! How’s it going?” Ayana glided into the workstation on her hoverchair. Her coiled black hair was pulled away from falling in her face by a pair of high tech artificer’s goggles. “We’re expectin’ an order for ya in five.” She tossed him a pair of work gloves.

“Fantastic,” Kravitz said with a smile. “And I’m doing well.” He slid on the gloves. 

His finger brushed a small object hidden in one of the glove’s fingertips. A spell bead. One of Ayana’s genius inventions. A captured spell effect that had been altered to skate along subspace, bypassing the plane of magic so heavily monitored by the empire. _Thank Kelemvor_. His imperial-issued arcane reserve had replenished since the day before, but he didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary. He pressed against the bead to activate the spell effect. Within moments, the commotion from the guild hall faded away until his senses honed in on a twenty foot area in front of himself. It could also obscure any observer’s perception of him for about thirty minutes, making it impossible to recall what he looked like. Genius, really. Knowing Ayana, she’d made sure ahead of time not to be affected by the spell herself.

“You’ll wanna keep track of your time and materials,” Ayana said. “Client mentioned there’s about four broken bits that need fixin’.” She guided her hover chair from around her massive workbench and rummaged through one of her many shelves for parts. 

That was code for four guards instead of the two reported earlier. Fine, he could deal with that. “So what’s that you’re working on? It looks overwhelming.”

Ayana laughed as she continued to riffle through her shelves. Once she found what she was looking for, she returned to the bench on which sat the contraption in question. “This is gonna change everything. It’s an asteroid bumper. One pulse and it’ll calculate where’s best to move an asteroid that’s on a dangerous collision course.”

“I’m surprised we haven’t already got one of those.”

“We do. Well, _they_ do.” And then at a whisper: “This one’s just so much better at it.” She grinned and lowered her goggles before setting to work. Sparks flew around her, making her dark brown skin flash gold. 

The project she’d given him lay waiting for him on his bench. He knew how to assemble these bits, but, _Kelmevor_ , he hoped no one asked what he was making. He always forgot the technical terms for this stuff. He could scale buildings, stealth through imperial guard formations, compose music and learn to play any song by ear, but put machine parts in front of him and he was nearly helpless.

The main entrance swung open, scattering shadows and reflections of light. Darunell, the high guild master, strode across the room to greet the imperial guards. He was stately as ever for a man who ran an oversized greasy workshop. Even in his sturdy leather apron and work gloves, his deep, smooth voice drew an awed crowd. A strange silence fell over the guild hall, beyond even what the spell had filtered. 

Four of the six crash survivors followed in after the guards, each wearing a red robe with a small, round patch. Darunell made sweeping gestures as he presumably gave them the typical spiel about the splendor of the Hall of Guilds, and showed off a few of the resident artificers. Kravitz watched only as long as other workers did, and then fell back into his task. 

“This is my daughter, Ayana,” Darunell said, voice coming into focus as he entered the range of Kravitz's spellbead. “She will be the one to help you with smaller repairs.”

Ayana set down her tools and pushed up her goggles. “Welcome!” She guided her chair over to the group of red robed strangers. 

“Ayana, here are our esteemed guests,” Darunell said with a flourish. Kravitz went unacknowledged. Good. “Our visitors from another world. They made their way here on a research vessel after they were knocked off course by our defense systems. As you know, their ship is badly damaged, so they’re in need of some parts for engine repair and other things so they can be on their way.” 

Ayana beamed at them. “Well, why don’t you make yourselves cozy while we get things ready. There’s a tea nook in the back, and if you go upstairs to the footbridge, there’s a couple of in-house food carts.”

“I’m afraid there's little time for respite, love,” Darunell said.

Ayana blew air through her lips. “Figures. Anyway, what’ve you got for me?”

One of the red robed visitors stepped forward with a warm smile. "Thank you, Ayana. I'm Lucretia, it's so lovely to meet you."

She introduced her companions as Barry (the one in glasses), and Lup and Taako (the two with hoods drawn over their heads). Interesting how, aside from those rounded ears, they didn’t look or act any differently than anyone living in the Stonesea. Skintones were natural, ranging from dark to light brown to pale. They each had two eyes, two arms, one mouth. No tentacles or additional appendages. Not quite as 'otherworldly' as one might expect. None of them appeared to be elves, however, unless the elves didn't come to the city. He peered closer at the two wearing their red hoods. He hadn't actually seen their ears yet, but it was a reasonable assumption they were the same as the others. Elves should be glowing anyhow.

Lucretia handed a paper to Ayana, who took it with a shy smile and a stammer as they eased into a conversation over the items on the list. Kravitz only half listened to for certain keywords as he observed the rest of them. The hooded duo shared a remarkable likeness from the shapes of their facial features and gold-brown skin tone, to the tilt of their heads as they listened. Siblings, a man and woman. Perhaps twins. One of them stood closer to the pale-skinned man in glasses, and reached for his hand. They exchanged a tender glance, and a whisper or two, which Kravitz could overhear.

“Are we in danger? You gotta at least tell me that,” the one called Lup said.

“No. Maybe?" Barry replied. "I don’t know. I really don’t feel good talking about it here."

He was right to be cautious. 

One of the twins, Taako, snagged Kravitz's attention more so than the other. He wore a red jacket over his red robes, an odd but strangely charming look for him. While he gave off the impression of disinterest, or even overt boredom, his eyes were sharp and focused. Calculating. And — _shite_ — looking straight at him. 

Kravitz dropped his gaze to the machine parts in his hands, and breathed steadily through his nose. The perception bead had to be working given the ambient sounds of the guildhall were still being filtered out. Perhaps he’d been staring too long. He did his best to appear focused on his work as Ayana spoke with Barry in more depth about the things he needed done. She made notes in a holopad at her workstation while a small hoverbot began gathering nearby materials she'd need. It was all a bunch of technical jargon and nothing that seemed relevant to Kravitz's needs. He was starting to get bored himself, until a few things happened all at once.

First, a loud clatter echoed through the hall, startling Kravitz even through the effects of the glove bead’s spell. He fumbled his spanner, but caught it before it could hit the ground. Then a large shadow swooped in his periphery. Everyone, including the guards, gawked as the huge propulsion unit swayed from a crane on its way up through the open air to the fourth floor loft. A piece of it had evidently fallen off somehow. Why the hell wouldn’t they work on it at the ground level? Its ship must be the one parked on the rooftop.

Darunell hurried over to tend to the tense situation, leaving Barry and Lucretia to distractedly resume their discussion with Ayana. The twins, on the other hand, crept past his workbench and out of the side exit.

Kravitz watched them, blinking. There wasn’t a strategic reason to follow them. He knew this. But sometimes curiosity revealed more truths than anything else. “Ayana, I’ll be back. Feeling peckish. Want anything?”

She waved him on without breaking her interest in Lucretia’s explanation of their ship’s unique engine. He'll find a way to tease her about that later.

Kravitz slipped out of the side exit into a waft of sugar powder from the frydough stand. There’d only been a ten second gap since the twins left, but that was plenty of time to get lost in a crowd. If he were trying to get away from a boring conversation in a noisy place, he’d go straight for where it’d be most difficult to find him. He pressed on through the busy alley towards the market. It was busy as typical for this time of day, but their red robes shouldn't be hard to miss.

Sure enough, he spotted them not too far into the crowd. They drifted from stall to stall, ran their hands along bolts of fabric, held out hand-sewn skirts and tunics and jewelry for each other to inspect. Kravitz pretended to peruse the wares at a basket weaver’s tent nearby as he listened to their conversation. 

“This would make a baller dress,” Lup said.

“Your aim back there was baller,” Taako said dryly. “ _That_ is untenable.”

“You’re just mad that you look ridiculous in spirals.”

“Me and everyone.” He pulled out a yard of iridescent turquoise fabric with a gold pattern meant to look like light sail material. Feathers were stitched here and there as though caught in a delicate web. “Now this — this is interesting.”

“It suits you, I won’t lie.”

"No, not that. I mean, natch, but _look_.” He held it up to her. “Feathers.”

“Oh shit. You noticed that too?" Lup asked. "No seagulls at the harbor. No birds in the trees. Weird, right? But it got me thinking. There could be birds somewhere else. Think of the asteroids like islands in the ocean. They probably have different creatures on them. Maybe there’s one with birds?”

“Mmmm, good point.” Taako stared at it a little longer. “Wonder if feathers have some meaning to them. Nah, probably not that deep.”

Kravitz was not too far from them, and the effects of the spellbead worked to filter out other visual distractions of the busy market. There was something about them. Something he noticed in a small flash if he looked away and looked back. As though their appearances were slow to fill-in. 

A few waves of honey-blonde hair had escaped Lup’s hood, and her dark lashes obscured her eyes as she stared down at a pair of gloves. She turned away, but Taako was facing him full on. A few freckles stood out on his light brown skin. A couple of rings gleamed on his long fingers as he ran his hand over the gold stitching. He noticed the slight, downward turn of his mouth. But every now and then, as they moved, as his eyes tracked them, he caught an edge of gold, a flash of green.

So focused on him he was, that he almost missed that three people in the surrounding crowd turned at once to weave toward the twins. They wore civilian clothes, only identifiable by the imperial insignia pin on their collars. 

Kravitz swore under his breath. He sharpened his focus on the twins, and whispered an incantation to protect them from any psychic attacks. Imperial Listeners don’t fuck around when they suspect someone of being in the Collective. Even with something as simple as a conversation about birds. Without sparing a moment to reassure himself it worked, Kravitz slipped out of sight to the nearest passage leading away from the market. The old stone buildings cast deep shadows across the alley. A planter box full of greenery afforded him some cover and allowed a decent view of the stalls nearby. He cast a reinforcing stealth ward on himself and watched. 

The three Listeners halted their approach. If all went well, they should find themselves unable to penetrate their target’s minds beyond a repetitive series of song lyrics. Kravitz’s poison of choice—an opera, one his mother sang. Popular enough that it wouldn’t be odd to find it running through someone’s head. What he hadn’t anticipated is how this would affect beings not of this world. 

Taako grabbed Lup’s wrist and pulled her with him. She went along without question, hand on his shoulder to keep herself from getting swept away by the current of people that kept moving and shifting and tangling together. Eventually she found an opening and darted with him into it, and as luck would have it, they ended up mere feet away from where Kravitz stood. This was old hat to him. It shouldn't make his heart pound so. But the other-worlders were _right there_.

The Listeners searched in random directions, bewildered, their targets unhooked from whatever mental line they had cast at them. They dispersed into the crowd, also not keen on being found out. Kravitz silently thanked the Collective for imbuing his glyph tattoo with a spell-obfuscating enchantment. Anyone trying to surveil which spells he had cast would find benign things like food warming and load-lightening spells. 

“I take it you felt that too?” Lup said, rounding on Taako, her eyes wide with alarm.

“I _heard_ it. It has to be these fucking things.” Taako pulled back the sleeve of his robe and yanked at something on his wrist. He cast his gaze upward. “It’s already so late in the day. Could that be it?”

“We should get back. Barry can only cover our asses so long. If the guards figured out— Taako, what—”

Taako pushed back his hood after it kept slipping too far over his eyes. His hair was blond and damp at the temples with sweat. He unsheathed a dagger from somewhere within his robes and wedged it under the band of a bracelet on his wrist.

“ _Taako, don’t!_ ” Lup hissed. She tried to grab his arm away but it was too late. 

The bracelet’s band gave, Taako’s blade jerked upward. It scattered light for a second, and was gone, back into its sheath somewhere in the depths of Taako’s robes. The bracelet fell to the cracked stone walkway.

Taako stood and breathed, his chest heaving, his eyes green and luminous. His hair was gold and wreathed in a bright halo from a sharp angle of sunlight. His ears were long and pointed and pierced with silver. 

Kravitz could not look away. Could not… _move_ away. The air felt infused with something powerful and unknown. The delicate threads of magic woven through reality sparked as though struck by lightning, and it overwhelmed him. Kravitz staggered, pulled towards Taako, drawn to that well of arcane warmth that radiated from him. He fought for control of his senses, and found a tether, weak and ephemeral, within his own mind. A memory of his mother’s soft humming as she twisted his locs. 

Taako was close enough to touch, but Kravitz pressed his hands against the rough wall, let the scent of herbs—rosemary, thyme, sun pepper—growing nearby ground him.

But he wasn't the only one affected. Several other people in the vicinity turned to stare at Taako. They drifted towards him, their faces open with wonder and desire.

“Well, fuck. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.” Taako said, and his voice was etched in Kravitz’s mind. 

Lup picked up the bracelet. “I was trying to tell you.”

“In my defense, I felt justified considering I started hearing opera music out of fuckin’ nowhere in my own head.”

“Come on!” Lup grabbed his wrist this time and pulled him with her, past Kravitz, down the alleyway to the road on the other end. He lost sight of them around the corner, but it was far less crowded there. They should be safe. 

The onlookers who had appeared to be enthralled slowly shook the sensation away. They carried on with their previous business, unsettled but not alarmed.

The enchantment untangled from Kravitz as well, but didn't fully dissipate. Like an afterimage, it left an impression on his psyche. No...not his psyche. Some other part of him. It was not unlike the strange Light he was tasked to find, but also not quite the same. The Light felt like it could change everything for the better. This... this felt like it could change _him._ The two sensations swirled within him, reinforcing each other. In that moment he realized two things: One—he had learned nothing about the Light. Two—he would travel to the ends of the Stonesea to find it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We've got some Taakitz interaction!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @desiree-harding-fic and @thimbleful for the beta, you're both lovely.
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: Anxious feelings about being followed, discussions about death/Kravitz's family

Taako turned the corner to the main road after Lup, putting the entire length of the alley between them and the market. Though far fewer, there were still people here, and most of them lingered ahead at the food vendors by the Hall of Guilds. Right where Taako and Lup needed to go. The stagecoach they’d taken hovered where they’d left it, and two imperial guards stood watch at its side. They could easily slip through the crowd and back to the side door, but—Taako stopped.

Like hell he would go back there. He didn’t want anyone reaching and grabbing for him like a sugar-dusted pastry. Taako’s good out here. That’d become his fucking catchphrase if it came down to it. 

As he hesitated, with Lup a few paces ahead, a couple of people broke away from a food stand and began to head their way. They laughed together and shared a giant disk of frydough. 

“Fuck.” Lup turned around sharply. “Turn back.” 

She didn’t have to say a damn thing. Taako was already halfway back around the corner. He searched frantically for a way out. On both sides of him, up and down the corridor were home entrances with quaint little windows and pots of flowers or herbs. A couple of posters advertising show times for an opera were glued on the alley entrance to his right. Beside it was a sign that read ‘RESIDENTS ONLY.’ 

“Listen, I’ll stay here,” Taako said, slightly breathless. “Take that bracelet back to Barry. Or maybe that artificer can fix it without the guards knowing. She seemed down.”

“Taako," Lup said serious. Almost fierce. "You’re asking me to leave you here alone. I’m not going to leave you here alone."

“Of course not. Becaaause I won’t be here at all.” Taako winked and spoke the words for an invisibility spell. With scarcely a second of concentration, a faint shimmer alighted around his form. He braced for it to fail, for a punishing zap or the imperial magic police to jump out at him. Instead, a mild dizziness lingered. Not typical, but not something to worry about.

Lup startled before she realized what had happened. “Oh, shit. Good call.” 

“There. That better? I promise I won’t go anywhere. It’ll be _fine._ Just hurry!”

She huffed and scowled at him. “Okay, okay. _Dammit_.” She still hesitated, looking at the space he occupied but not seeing him. She peered around the corner, then swore again under her breath and took off.

Now alone, he moved further into the alley. Maybe this was a terrible idea. It was never good to separate, but at the moment all of their options were varying degrees of bad. 

A few moments passed. Taako considered finding a spot to sit, but eventually the pair sharing frydough made their way into his view. They stopped at the edge of the alley, conversation falling away. 

Taako stared at them, waiting to see what they’d do. They looked young—preteens enjoying an afternoon away from their parents, perhaps. A breeze rustled their dresses and fluttered ribbons as they leaned in towards him. The frydough dangled in a weak grip, white specks of sugar dusting the stones as they fell from the paper it was wrapped in. 

Taako crept in a deliberate, backward stride, careful not to scuff his foot across the paving stones. The radius of this mesmer effect seemed arbitrary—once their curiosity was piqued—because they still wandered in, eyes roaming all over but not settling on him directly. 

Taako backed away further, pulse cranked up a tick.

They stopped, but continued to peer down the alley with a mix of confusion and wonder on their faces.

“Do you feel that?” one said.

“How could I not? It’s like…” the other’s voice trailed off, lost to it.

A hawker’s call rose over the market crowd behind him, and echoed down the alley—Taako couldn’t go in too much further. He flexed his fingers. Every inhale hitched, but not because he was _scared_. He wasn't afraid. They just looked _so_ desperate, so shaken. It was weird as hell, and they needed to stay as far away from him as possible. 

“Could it be a gyre?” the first one asked.

“In the middle of an alley? That’d be mad.”

“What else could it be? What else would...”

They moved forward again, toward him, feeling but not seeing. 

Taako scrambled backward to put a wide gap between them. If he knew he’d be dodging creeps all afternoon he’d have worn different shoes. Now past the center of the passage, he couldn’t go any further or he’d draw people in from the market. It was enough space to break whatever sway he held over them, however. They shook the trance from their minds and huddled together as they turned away. Taako waited, breath shallow and mouth dry, until they rounded the corner and he was alone. 

He had mere seconds to breathe out a swear in relief, before a shadow stepped away from a trellis of red roses and into a backlit view. The person stood, facing him, at the street market end of the alley. Far enough inside to be able to sense his presence for sure. 

Maybe it was the odd sky and the washed-out colors in this world, but Taako couldn’t discern many features through the interplay of shadows and light. They wore no coat or hat, but appeared to have dreadlocks pulled back in a low ponytail. Was that a waistcoat? The sleeves were deffo puffy with cuffs. Some fashion shapes were easy to pick out. 

Taako peered closer, squinting, given that this tall, broad-shouldered silhouette in tight trousers was just gonna stand there facing him full on. What good was keen elven eyesight if he couldn’t tell if a man was hot in the dark? Taako might let this play out just to see what this fella’s intentions were, but he just stood there. It was almost offensive.

Taako kept utterly still, chin lifted, hand hovering at his hip where he could quickly access his dagger or wand if necessary. He should go. Lup should be back soon. He hoped this man went away before then, or, he hoped… well, he wasn’t sure. Someone opened their door and stepped out to pick a few sprigs of an herb in a planter. She stared in Taako’s direction, took a step out further from her stoop. This time, Taako did back away. She shook out of the thrall and returned to her home.

The man watched this happen. He waited until they were alone again before he spoke. “Sorry for how this sounds but, I don’t see you, but I—I feel that you’re still there. I can offer some small reassurance if it helps. They don’t want to hurt you. Well,” he said, faltering, “ _I_ don’t. I can only extrapolate from there.”

His voice was deep and gentle, if a bit broken by some indiscernible emotion. Like he was fighting something. That alone made Taako want to argue—why should he trust some mysterious asshole in an alley? _So what_ if he might be attractive. It didn’t fucking matter _why_ they came after him. It shouldn’t be happening in the first place—but he was gone before Taako could open his mouth. Still, his words, the reassuring essence of them, settled into him like wings folding. The urge to run tucked away for now. 

He walked back to where Lup had left him and waited there with a strong desire to not think about anything. Especially not dashing silhouettes with reassuring messages who resisted creeping after him. 

The opera posters across from him provided a mild distraction. They advertised a new soprano and a real ancient flute in writing so superfluously scrolled it was almost illegible. _The Lady from the Stars,_ it read. Curls and swoops of the letters blended into artwork of a woman with a sorrowful look on her face. She stood on the promenade of a ship in outer space. Another ship sailed away from her into a flood of black ink. 

Lup rounded the corner at last, the metallic smells from the artificer’s hall lingering on her. She looked around for him. “Taako?” 

Taako dropped the invisibility spell. “Lup, what—”

As he moved toward her, he spotted the two guards who had accompanied them into the Hall of Guilds standing a few paces behind her. She was not bound or cuffed, but her movements were stiff. Normally he’d look at her ears for subtle expressive tells—a twitch or a tilt—but they were currently half-elf sized and so not as easy to read. 

“Put this back on.” She forced the bracelet into his hand and stepped back. “It’s fixed,” and then, quieter, “sorry.”

He shot a glare toward the guards and slid it back on over his wrist. It tightened as it met the warmth of his skin, but was not as restrictive as it had been before. A faint ring of darker, raised material marked where the sliced band had been fixed. He ran his thumb over that, and the bead. It felt as it had before, cold and smooth.

The two guards then moved a few steps closer. 

“Thank you,” one of them said—the one with a curled moustache.

The other, brawnier guard spoke next. “Unfortunately you have defied imperial orders that you be guarded at all times, therefore you have lost shopping privileges.”

“Oh no. You hurt me where it matters most,” Taako said dryly. Then a sly smile crept across his face. “Hey, you _can_ speak. Here I was thinking you were a coupla empty uniforms. You’ll be able to answer this then. Why are _we_ the ones losing privileges? _You’re_ the ones who lost sight of _us_.”

“I tried that already, Taako. Go on, tell him what you told me,” Lup said.

“If you would please come along,” the mustached guard said. “Remain in the stagecoach until the others are done, and we will not report the incident.”

“This is so,” the brawny guard added. "But either way, we have orders to hold you in Grandalia tonight. The princess wishes to meet you.”

Lup gestured with a flourish. “See?”

Taako agreed, but only because Lup was involved with the deal-making. And guards willing to hide truths from the empire they serve gave him some measure of reassurance. Meeting the princess was... whatever. He’d get it over with.

The guards, one in front of the twins and the other behind, escorted them to the carriage and shut them inside. They took up watch outside, their backs to the door so Taako could make as many rude gestures at them as he pleased. He wasn’t feeling up to it though. He slouched in the seat, far more comfortable in here than he’d like to admit. 

Lup sat across from him, hair falling loose around her plain, illusory face. Dark roots were beginning to show at the crown of her head, something typically not as starkly noticeable with elven hair products. These asswipes sure weren’t skimping on their attention to detail. She picked at the velvet lined bench, brow furrowed and gaze aimed at the floor.

Taako arched an eyebrow, self consciously touching his own hair. “Um, you all right, Lup?”

“That was scary, Taako,” Lup said in their native elvish. “I was caught on my way back to you. They were so ready to take me to the imperial stockade if I hadn’t pointed out their little predicament. I can’t wait to get the hell out of here.”

“Yeah, no shit,” he said, also in elvish. “All right, so the artificer fixed the bracelet, I presume?”

“Mmhm. She said it should work ‘better’ now? Which, not sure what better means. You currently look like my brother through a potato filter, so that’s still working.”

“Rude,” he said, and then looked at his palm in thought. He steeled himself as he cast prestidigitation. The atmosphere around him sifted as it typically would when drawing on the ethereal plane, but the magic was harder to pull through. Alarmingly so compared to the invisibility spell he’d cast earlier. It dragged, like a fishing lure caught on a branch at the bottom of the lake. A small sphere of weak light bloomed in his palm, but fizzled out a second later. He frowned.

“No pain?”

“No. No pain…” He rubbed his wrist under the bracelet. “But my magic’s all heavy.”

“Guess that’s all she could do. Too many people around. Listen, Barry didn’t tell me a whole lot in front of everyone, but he said the band of the bracelet is made of the same stuff that was in that antimagic iron shackle they’d given you.”

Taako had almost forgotten the iron shackles. “Shit. What else?”

“Oh, just a little necromancy, no big. I mean, it’s all the same level of potency.” 

Normally he could tell if she was bullshitting him, but this time he couldn’t. “No big? _No big?_ I’m sorry, but since when is necromancy ‘no big.’ Especially if I’m wearing it on my _body_.”

She didn’t respond right away. Maybe he sounded too accusatory. He opened his mouth to reassure her that _of course_ he didn’t think she didn’t care about him being harmed, it was just—

“It’s on my body too, Taako. We need the lab is all,” she said, quiet enough to put him on edge.

He gave her a long look. This wasn’t the first time she’d been flippant about necromancy. It had to have something to do with how big of an ‘experimental magic’ nerd she’d become. She’d get defensive of certain spells otherwise thought of as ‘dark magic.’ There’s no dark or light magic; it’s all about intention, she’d say, like he’d never heard that before. If it was anything else, she’d have told him. Wouldn’t she? 

“I was worried you’d be gone when I got back,” Lup said, her voice softer. 

“Nah, it was chill as hell. There was a minor incident but cha’boy handled it.” 

She squinted at him. “Right. It’s just, I’m trying to work out the puzzle of enchantments on that thing. Without it, they see us as elves, and they’re ready to jump our bones. With it, we get a magical wrist slap, but at least we’re not big hunks of delicious god meat—”

“— _mmm_ delicious,” Taako said.

“You know it. It sorta sounds straightforward when I say it like that, but… hm.”

Barry and Lucretia returned to the carriage before they could continue down that line further. There was a bit of awkward shuffling and muttered apologies as Barry found a place to set the sturdy leather bag of repair parts and tools. Once they settled, the coach pulled away from the curb. 

Taako sat back and quietly listened as the others discussed, now in common, what all would happen in the ensuing eleven hours. The Starblaster would be fixed by the morning so they could fly it low altitude to the harbor for hull repairs. After, Darunell had enlisted Ayana and a few others to help them adapt it with a lightsail and necessary equipment for navigating the Stonesea. Merle would finish up with the farmers by the time they were ready to set sail. 

The whole time Taako bounced his leg. Hearing of progress while progress had yet to happen made him antsy. Lup reached over and lightly smacked his knee. 

“You’re making the whole thing shake, dingus.”

He drew one foot up to his bench, then stretched his other leg across to rest a heeled ankle boot by Lup’s side. “S’the only way to keep ‘em still, sorry.”

“It’s all good. Budge up.” She patted his foot, then stretched her own leg across to rest by his other hip once he scooted over. 

“I hear you’re not coming back with us tonight,” Barry said to Lup. 

“Mmhm, the princess wants to meet us.”

“Wish I could join ya. I can’t stay; gotta get back to help Magnus and the captain get things ready for tomorrow.”

“I’ll stay,” Lucretia said. “I’ve had my eye on the library across from the Hall of Guilds since I saw it. Think I might take a walk later and check it out.”

“Oh sh-shit. I hate I’ll miss that.” Barry looked genuinely heartbroken, poor nerd. “Ah well, you know what I like, if you see something.”

Lucretia’s lips curled in a little smile. “I’ll see what I can find.”

Taako didn’t admit it out loud, but he’d also prefer to chill at the library than meet this princess. What if she was a kid? If she wanted to meet _Taako_ , that was one thing. He could put on that show, even for royal asswipes. But no, she wanted to meet an elf god from space. 

The stagecoach soon pulled into the drive of a beautiful manor home that sat harbor side. A sunset sky in shades of violet and the faintest hint of pink arced overhead and light from the windows glowed gold across the front garden. 

Barry leaned toward Lup and spoke to her in elvish, which was always amusing in his thick, city boy accent. “Here,” he pressed an oval-shaped, faceted crystal in Lup’s palm. It was ringed in dark gray metal, and had a necklace chain affixed to it. “I traded these comm things with Ayana for a tour of the Starblaster. She said they only work with each other. I took that to mean they can’t be bugged or tapped or whatever.”

“Oh, sweet.” Lup inspected the translucent surface, then slid it on. She tucked the pendant into the front of her shirt. “How do I use it?”

“There’s a place on the side that pushes in and it’ll glow or some shit. I’ll let you know as soon as I get results from the lab.”

“Got it, babe.”

The stagecoach came to a stop as they kissed.

Taako looked away and out of the small window to the manor where he assumed they’d be staying the night. Fuck was this place disorienting. The first questions he’d have for the princess—and it didn’t fuckin’ matter if she was a kid or not—was how the hell did they get so much wood in space? Where does all the fancy fabric come from? How do they have time to carve all those architectural details and have operas and shit like that when they’re flying around on a glorified space rock in a sea of millions of them? 

So much for fantasy fish n’chips.

* * *

Kravitz prayed at sunset nearly every day as far back as memory allowed. As a child, his mother led the prayers at their family altar, and then he and his brother would quibble over who got to place the offering before Kelemvor’s scales of judgment. Their father, voice intoned and reverent, would read from a scroll all the names of deceased loved ones. Three minutes of silence followed, wherein they would reflect on their ancestors, and then the candle would be left to burn out on its own as they went about their evening.

These days, the sun would often set while Kravitz was still out on a mission or performing in the opera’s chamber orchestra. He tried not to feel guilty about it. Prayed and read off the names as soon as he was able. That golden sun mentioned in scriptures was gone now anyway. He’d never be able to properly visualize the vibrant meadows of wildflowers, or blue skies so vast they could swallow birds whole. _That sun’s with the ancestors now, baby. You better respect it_ , his mother would say if he complained. And thus, the guilt.

Their current sun was a silver distant star like any other. Closer and therefore larger, but she still struggled through the expanse to bring warmth to the broken world. If not for the manufactured atmosphere, the sky would be star-dusted black. Beautiful, but not sustainable for life.

Kravitz now stood alone in the temple antechamber of the Ancestor Collective, on time for his prayers for once. After what happened in the market alley—that swell of magic, that pull of phantom nostalgia around the elf so strong that he broke protocol—he’d rushed straight for a teleport access sigil and reported his decision to the elders. 

Naturally, they had been grateful. Especially since there was confirmation from Birds on Grandalia and other outposts along the Stonesea that the Empire was already searching. All of the resources he’d need to track down the Light, including a stealth-capable shuttlecraft, would be provided. The only caveat was that he must do it alone. He would miss the reclaiming ceremony for the flute, but he’d find a way to make up for it—if he survived. It was best not to think that far ahead.

His next steps were straight-forward. Follow the other-worlders. Collect intelligence from their communications array. Don’t interact. Stop thinking about the otherworldly magic and the striking elf who possessed it, and seize the Light before anyone else.

He lit the candle on the altar to banish his errant thoughts, and whispered his prayers. The scroll of family names he was to recite next curled over his fingers. He shifted to reading them, and the older ones rolled past his lips with ease. He’d never met most of them. But then he reached his brother’s name, written by his mother’s hand, and his throat felt tight as he spoke it out loud.

His father’s name was next, also written in his mother’s handwriting. He could see pain and anger in every pen stroke. How they trailed and shook. By this point, she was a woman who’d lost one child to the dangers of asteroid mining, and had just been informed that her husband’s body had not been found. And likely wouldn’t ever. Adrift somewhere in the void, was the implication. 

He spoke his father’s name, as he’d done for her when she couldn’t say it aloud, and then brushed his finger over his mother’s, written in his own hand. He rose to his feet. If she really was dead, then he would take the penance for not acknowledging it when he had definitive proof.

In the three minutes of silence that followed, he found himself reflecting on the altars that surrounded him. Altars of ancient homeworld gods. Gods of places and peoples long lost to desolation. Altars for gods born over long years on the generation ship. Those were gods of endlessness, of unknown things, and of abject wonder. And altars to the newer gods. Gods of survival and luck and innovation. The story of his whole world rested here with them. 

A door opened. One of the Collective’s Keepers, an archivist essentially, walked in and stood before an empty altar meant for personal and family gods. They put an offering on the pedestal and smiled at Kravitz. Kravitz nodded a greeting and left them alone with their prayers. 

The Collective cantina would be his next stop. He’d kinda left Ayana to face the other-worlders alone without warning, and asked her to catch up with him there when he was finished with the elders.

He found her near the entrance wall at a table wide enough to fit her hoverchair. Like other caverns in the Collective, the cantina was lit by crystal clusters all around. Some of them pulsed gently to the upbeat rhythm of music. Several folks were gathered at other tables and crowded at the bar, including a handful of elders in their casual clothes. They were like any other person when not tending to formalities. 

Kravitz sat across from Ayana. “Hey, um. Thanks for meeting.”

She waved a hand and pushed a plate piled high with ube chips at him. “All set with your elders and your god?”

The smell of the chips brought his stomach to life. It’d been so long since breakfast. He grabbed a handful of the purple fried tuber strips and ate several before responding. “That’s up to them, I suppose, but I feel I’ve done my best.”

“You never came back earlier.”

“Sorry.” He made an apologetic face. “I had to report what happened right away. How did it go with the other-worlders?”

“Fine, fine. Got us in a scramble to pull together things they need for repairs, but the pay is good, so.” She shrugged a shoulder and popped a chip in her mouth. “I like them. Had a nice chat with the bookish one while the bloke with the glasses had a look around. What happened anyway? You took off after the blondies and next thing I know they’re findin’ ways to distract their watchers so they can have me fix a bloody imperial tracking cuff.”

“There was something about those two,” he said. “When folks are willing to slip out like that despite the risks, they’ve got something important to discuss.” 

“And did they?”

“They didn’t, not really. Unless you count their confusion over bird motifs in our clothes. Wasn’t till one of them cut off his tracker that I found out what I needed to know.”

“Yeah, about that,” she blew air upward, stirring the springy curls that stuck out between the edges of the goggles resting over her brow. “The tracker they had me fix, it weren’t your standard tracker. This one had a magic dampener, appearance filter, and a syphon bead. If they’re elves, which is fuckin’ crackers if you ask me, I get the appearance filter. Won’t work at night though. Magic dampener—okay, they aren’t woven into our grid yet and again if they’re elves, they probably can’t be. Shitty, that, but you could see that coming. That bead? I’ve only seen that used with the dangerous sort. Violent criminals.”

Kravitz chewed on a chip in thought. A waitress stopped by to take drink orders, and once she left he leaned toward Ayana. “So they think they’re dangerous. What does it do?”

“Best I can tell, if they try to cast a spell, not only does it not work, but the magic is pulled from them, life force right along with it. I honestly don’t think those guards realized it, otherwise they’d never let me touch it in the first place. They’ve got specialized imperial artificers for something like that. In any case, I dispelled that one.”

“Good on ya. They’re not dangerous.”

If anything, the elf— _Taako!_ That’s what he’d been called. Taako had seemed far more worried than aggressive. He had even hidden himself to evade the mesmerizing effect his magic had on those around him. Once Kravitz had determined the cause, he was more easily able to overcome the sensation. But he still felt it. _Kelemvor_ , did he feel it. Deep, old world magic. It was like… standing on the edge of an abyss and wanting to fall in. Or like a safe embrace after ages of running scared. It stoked a longing for a place he never knew. Something in his bones, in his blood, but not in his mind. Taako seemed unaware that it would cause such a reaction. If only Kravitz could’ve _seen_ him again in his effort to reassure him. 

Kravitz looked down at the cloth napkin he’d been twisting. “...Far as I can tell.”

Ayana watched him with that look she gives when she’s picked up on something he’s not saying. “No, they clearly want to bugger off as fast as they can,” a pause, “and I’m going with them.”

“ _What?”_ Kravitz looked around when he realized he’d been too loud. He lowered his voice. “Aya, how—”

She grinned. “I’m going to collect information on their tech for the Guild. A science mission!”

“That’s—that’s perfect for you.” He returned her smile, broad and genuine. “Have you told the Collective?”

“Not yet. Haven’t even told the other-worlders. That’s a conversation for tomorrow Ayana. I got as far as trading a couple of untraceable comms for a tour.” She waggled her eyebrows. 

Kravitz laughed and shook his head.

“What about you? What’ve you got going on?”

The waitress dropped off their ales and winked at Ayana. While they had a little flirt, Kravitz took a long sip of his ale, musing over whether to tell her that he’d be stealthily following behind the Starblaster. Parallel missions were common. The Collective likely wouldn’t have an issue with her request or her knowing that he’d be close behind. What they might take issue with is Ayana knowing the reason. Though, given that they were to be ostensibly alone with the other-worlders and travelling through dangerous space, he thought it best to let her know he had her back, even if it might undermine his entire mission. But he couldn’t talk about it here.

Ayana tapped him with a flimsy chip. “Well?”

“You’re gonna laugh when I tell you.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Thimbleful, Desiree Harding, and Maddy May for your input on this chapter. Thank you to Desiree for your invaluable knowledge of music and opera and talking stuff out with me about that.
> 
> Warnings in this chapter: It becomes more apparent that the empire functions more like a fundamentalist cult and the imperial family are seen as godlike, especially by the elite class. So those vibes are here to set the precedent.
> 
> Thanks for reading and please let me know if you enjoy :)

Kravitz took a stroll down the main strip of his borough on his way home from the Ancestor Collective. It was nice out. Almost normal. Shop doors were propped open with a-framed signs to entice passers-by, and folks sat on stoops to take in the clear evening air. There wasn’t as much music blaring from windows as usual, but that didn't hinder the upbeat tempo in his steps. Cautious repose. That's what this was. The decline in imperial patrols drew people out of their flats like nature emerging after a thunderstorm.

He paused to chat with several neighbors along the way. Some he personally knew, others that knew his parents. He always made it a point to connect and smile and laugh with people in his life before he embarked on dangerous missions. Did they notice the pattern? If they did, nobody mentioned it. He also tried not to think too much about it being like saying goodbye. But that’s what it was. He knew too well what it felt like to not get one. Abrupt. Unfair. His brother's last words to him had been so... ordinary. But now wasn't a time to think of his own grief. 

Between conversations, he stopped in the surrounding shops to get books, rosin, and extra strings. Going stealth meant he couldn’t connect to signal nodes that would allow him to access broadcasted entertainment, so he had to bring his own. Unless Ayana would be willing to sneak him on to the Starblaster’s frequency array now that she knew he'd be following behind. He'd gauge whether he could push his luck later. 

It had been a relief to tell her. Aside from her amusement at the coincidence, she questioned why the Collective would put a hunter on a strictly intel-gathering mission. Especially a hunter as valuable as Kravitz, in her words. This was what he disliked most, having to withhold bits of truth from her, but she'd understand better than anyone. The Ancestor Collective needed to be careful, and sometimes that meant partitioned missions. Anyway, he had argued she’d be equally at risk doing solo guild work, and that she was also invaluable. His earnest deflection had distracted her from questioning him further. He still doubted that’d be the end of it, and he knew he’d have to explain his real purpose to capture the Light eventually. Just not in the bloody Collective cantina. 

As Kravitz approached his apartment block, his farspeech stone alerted him to an incoming message. He fished it from his inside coat pocket. The smooth crystal surface flickered with the image of his impresario, frazzled as ever. Kravitz groaned inwardly. 

_“Kravitz, I know the hour is getting late, but you are needed for a private performance. We have been called upon by her Imperial Highness, who is entertaining a few of the other-worlders, and, well, you know how fond the princess is of the latest opera. She has requested a quartet to accompany Lady Tessany at hour seven sharp.”_

Kravitz _almost_ complained. An irritated sigh was right there, ready to reveal how he begrudged this. As first chair, he often had little choice in catering to the whims of the elite, and he needed the pay. Hour seven of eleven, though? That gave him precisely forty minutes to fetch his cello, don his performance clothes, and make it to the estate. Entertaining royalty through the night was not how he planned on spending the evening before a dangerous mission. A full four hours of rest would be most ideal, but knowing the other-worlders would be among them —

“I’ll arrive with ten minutes to spare,” Kravitz said. Professional and reassuring.

 _“Good. Very good. I can always count on you."_ The stone flickered again and went dark.

Kravitz arrived late, but not by much. He tipped the coach driver and pulled his cello off the back, somewhat distracted at the grandeur of the estate. It wasn’t quite as extravagant as the royals’ more secluded palace on the way to Brandiel, but it was still far beyond the means of most people. It stoked that slow simmering rage in his gut that inspired him to actively undermine the empire any chance he got. The Light—it could do that, couldn’t it? Topple an empire once and for all. He caught himself staring off at the stars as a footman emerged from a side door to usher him into the estate.

He was led to a large room where a dozens of guests were gathered in huddles for gossip and hollow flattery. The other-worlders weren’t among them. Servers carried around trays of delectable food—savory pastries, spiced meats— that he was not allowed to touch, at least not until the end of the evening when he could retire to the servant’s area and enjoy anything left over. The other instrumentalists were setting up in a corner of the large room behind a decorative partition, looking equally rushed as they shuffled sheet music and tuned their strings. Kravitz joined them and removed his cello from its case.

There was another room through a threshold by their corner—a parlor—that kept Kravitz’s attention. Blurred figures moved beyond the frosted glass of the closed door. His stomach flipped strangely as he thought he caught a flash of blond hair. He barely heard the words of the violinist as she instructed him on the order of music they were to perform. 

A bell rang, high and clear, and the doors opened. Everyone went quiet.

“Presenting the dazzling Lady Tessany!” 

Lady Tessany emerged from the threshold with a smile that befit her introduction. She wore one of her stage costumes, the one that signified her most tragic scene—a beautiful blue gown with finely stitched bird wings flaring downward across the full skirt. A spray of feathers in gold and blue was fixed by a clasp into her rich brown hair. A light applause dappled the room. She curtsied and headed over to the musicians’ corner as the murmur of conversations resumed.

“You look lovely,” Kravitz said as she approached, seeing how she fretted with the ringlets that fell over her shoulder and tugged the layers of her gown. This close he could see how very young she was. The daughter of a lord in title alone whose family lost their wealth through his terrible mismanagement of the inheritance. “Is everything all right, my lady?”

“Yes, quite. Thank you.” Her smile wavered. She picked at the lace sleeve that fell over her forearm. “Perhaps I’m a touch nervous.”

A series of chimes rang out, stifling Kravitz’s urge to reassure her further. 

The herald called for everyone to stand for the declaration of reverence for the princess. After the standard call-and-response— _We give thanks to you, blessed one, for you led us from eternal death. We are ever humble, for if not for your courage, we would be lost to the stars. We are one in your name_ —the princess, escorted by her personal guard, ascended the grand stair and glided into the room. 

She was a child, no more than eleven years, with pale skin and hair the color of alloy bronze, but was cloaked like a priest in imperial vestments of deep blue. A circle of gold stars with a rose at its center was stitched into each side of a white stole draped about her shoulders. 

This was the first time Kravitz had ever seen a royal so close. They had always been sat at a high dais so gilded that their fair skin took on a golden sheen. Her eyes were unsettling. Vacant. Though a smile spread across her face when she reached the room. She walked among the nobles in attendance who all reached out for her touch. Kravitz thanked the gods that he wasn’t forced to participate. As long as he remained tethered to the arcane network, he was free to hold his own beliefs. Not that it made him feel content—quite the opposite.

“You are safe, you are home,” she said. The Imperial blessing. “We are one in the name of our beloved Cornelius.” 

At this Kravitz swore he heard a snort from somewhere in the room. Kravitz clenched his jaw, trying not to grin and yet still wishing for it to be over. This charade of obsequious faith. 

“We wander no more,” the room said in unison, unaffected. 

Once the princess had settled at her designated canopied alcove, conversations picked up again. 

The violinist signaled for the quartet to play a few hymns to Cornelius, the man who led them through the most difficult parts of their interstellar voyage and retroactively declared ancestor of the imperial dynasty. Lady Tessany lent her voice to the arrangement, and of course it was beautiful. 

After a couple of songs, the bell rang, this time back at the parlor door. The herald presented the visitors from the stars, ‘ancestors to us all,’ who have defied space and time to reach us as foretold by the Imperial Seer.

Well then. That was new. But, par for the course—something throws the empire off its narrative? Change the narrative. A prophecy of elves would do just that.

An eager silence spread as voices died one by one. The doors opened with a slow creak. And there they were, the twins from the market. They stood in the doorway, elven features unobscured by the effects of their bracelets. Everyone took in their luminous eyes, longer, tapered ears, and the soft ethereal sheen to their tan skin with open awe. 

Kravitz had seen Taako like this before, very briefly, in the alley. That unforgettable moment when reality seemed to pivot around him as the blade cut through the bracelet at Taako’s wrist. How all the colors seemed brighter, and the atmosphere heavier. Now things moved in a similar sort of slow motion. Kravitz involuntarily braced for that strong magical aura. Nothing happened, but his grip remained tight on the neck of his cello.

Soft gasps were heard around the room as the twins stepped into the light of chandeliers. The freckles that lightly dusted their skin shimmered ever so slightly, as though they’d been sprinkled with pyrite. They carried themselves with a casual confidence at odds with their borrowed, ostentatious attire—Taako in gold accented ivory from his breeches to his overcoat, and Lup in a peach satin damask gown. Her soft blonde hair was pinned up and adorned with flowers, and Taako’s was tied back with a black ribbon. Their hair had darker roots that faded down into the blonde, suggesting that they lightened their hair with product or magic. 

They moved into the room and murmurs picked up around them.

_“But where are the wings?”_

_“I thought they’d be giants.” “Don’t be ridiculous.”_

_“Just as it was foretold!” “I don’t recall that. I must brush up on my studies.” “Indeed.”_

_“I reckon they sort of glow. Though my gran always told us they glowed brighter than the stars.”_

_“This must be their mortal form, of course.”_

_“Are we sure they’re elves? How did they survive?”_

It was true, they weren’t as celestial and otherworldly as folklore suggests with faery wings, literal galaxies in their eyes, and skin that glowed in the night. Beauty so profound that it would hurt to even look upon them. _O, what a privilege to be descended from the elves._ Etcetera… But they were still remarkable. Distractingly so. Kravitz doubted very much that this beauty was ubiquitous among elves. Perhaps it was not an elf thing, but a _them_ thing. What did the empire gain from allowing them to be thought of as godlike? What did they gain from a story about their collective demise?

Taako’s sharp gaze skimmed over the room, not settling anywhere or on anyone. His smile was a scythe as he cut through the throng of people that waited with their myriad questions. Lup laughed at some of his answers, and he laughed at hers in turn. Kravitz wished he could overhear. Were they leaning into this prophecy for the fun of it? He smiled at the thought.

With the room once more abuzz, Kravitz resumed bowing his cello, practicing scales for the opera set with the violist. He tried to ignore the uncomfortable jab of embarrassment that struck him quite suddenly. If Taako recognized him—Kravitz had _spoken_ to him for Kelemvor’s sake—it might make them suspicious. Certainly his intentions weren’t to creep around and follow them in particular. Yes he’d jumped at the opportunity to do this, but that didn’t mean—

This was a mistake. He should’ve turned this down. He couldn’t have, though. He wouldn’t have. The other-worlders could speak about their journey to find the Light, and say things he needed to hear. His impresario would ignore the hundreds of times Kravitz had dropped everything to comply, and from here out question his dedication. Why his elder's interventions always worked, Kravitz would never know.

At last the string quartet was given the signal to play the first of their opera pieces as everyone settled to listen. Kravitz looked up every now and then, too distracted for his own good. Taako remained by his sister as they relied on each other to wiggle out of having to talk for too long to anyone that approached. 

Kravitz made it through the first piece without accidentally making eye contact with either elf. They started on the second, a jubilant arrangement that played at the Emperor’s Ball in the opera. The princess beckoned the elves to her, and as she spoke with them, their posture gradually lost the casual air it had before. Kravitz was most keen to hear _that_ conversation, but he was much too far, and the music much too loud and the crowded extravagance of his surroundings much too suffocating. He did not miss how both elves fidgeted with their wrists every now and then. At least he could make some meaningful observations.

The lights dimmed as the song eased to silence. Lady Tessany stepped forward, gown glittering in the faint halo of candles all around. She waited as the strings swelled anew and then tapered off to a lone, forlorn note, and then she sang.

_“O, my love, my only love, you drift from me,_

_On a path of stars, on an endless sea._

_My heart doth follow though I cannot,_

_And I will wait, I will wait,_

_I will wait for you.”_

Kravitz sank into the music as he played, drawing out the somber chord progressions to complement the violin’s upward lilt and the soprano's lovely voice. He risked a glance toward the crowd after the first verse. The elves had settled closer to the performance, Lup with a handful of grapes and cheese, and Taako with a pensive stare in Kravitz’s direction.

Oh — _oh shit_. Kravitz looked away, almost lost positioning of his fingers on the strings, but found his place blessedly as Lady Tessany continued to sing.

“ _You journey e’er farther, to worlds I cannot go,_

_So I abandon my flesh, knock my heart in a bow,_

_I would shed my soul, to keep you safe,_

_And I would fly, I would fly,_

_to find you_.”

Kravitz managed to keep his focus on the music through the rest of the song, the lyrics themselves losing distinction from any other instrument but his own. It worked for a time. He almost forgot about Taako all together, but a new sensation cropped up to badger him. Like he was being watched. He was performing, so that wasn’t exactly unusual, but it didn’t feel like it came from anyone in the room. There was a large wall of windows nearby, made dark in contrast to the brightness of the room, so that had to be it. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw shapes peering in, but they were gone after a blink. Like in the puddle from the night before.

The song eased into its final, mournful notes, and Kravitz had never felt so relieved to be done with a show. The audience applauded. Kravitz stood with Tessany and the other instrumentalists to give a bow. When he finally dared to scan for Taako in the crowd, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Instead, Kravitz noticed the presence of a member of Syndicate Vela disguised as a server with a tray of fernberry cakes. If he hadn’t been looking at ears for a pair of distinctly elven ones, he might not have noticed the small metallic disc behind the server’s ear. Just…perfect. Just what he needed—the bloody Syndicate sinking their bloody talons into things.

Kravitz uttered his heartfelt thanks to his fellow musicians, and wedged his way through the stuffy nobles for the grand foyer. He needed fresh air. The perfume, the clove smoke, all of it too much. And now he had to suss out what the Syndicate wanted here. They were similarly clandestine as the Collective, but their primary objective was turning profit, not freeing the people from imperial control. They dealt in contraband and subwoven goods. They would rather exploit the existing system than dismantle it. If they were here, then there was a deal to be made, and Kravitz hoped it had nothing to do with the Light. It probably had everything to do with the Light, though. He had to alert the Collective.

The foyer was far quieter, much to his relief. But he was not alone. Taako stood leaning against the bannister of the grand staircase, looking very much like he’d prefer to get the hell out of there. Kravitz felt a kinship with him in that moment, and he almost, almost said something. That would've been... bad? Taako hadn’t noticed Kravitz yet, but there was no way to evade his complete notice at this point. So, he drew on his skills as a performer and walked toward the exit, hoping to go ignored in plain sight.

“Where’ya goin’ there, maestro?” Taako asked with a pointed drawl once Kravitz had his back to him.

He froze with his hand on the door, then turned to face Taako, offering up his innocent stranger’s smile. “Me? Could use a spot of fresh air. It’s unbearably, uh, warm, in there. You know, surely.”

Taako’s eyes narrowed, once more pensive, and his head tilted slightly. “I thought you seemed familiar. You certainly _sound_ familiar. I’d never forget a nice voice like that. Listen, it’s not that I blame you, but why the hell’re you following me around?”

Kravitz’s smile slipped, both because Taako had him in a proverbial corner, and because he’d complimented him in the same breath. How strange. Kravitz pushed down the latch of the door. “I apologize, but I daresay you must have mistaken me for another. I’m here as part of the quartet. No matter, welcome to the Stonesea.” He tipped his head respectfully, then opened the door to slide outside.

Once on the wide, quiet portico, Kravitz’s heart rate skyrocketed. He took a few steadying breaths among the columns. The guards that stood watch paid him no mind, but he still moved to the bottom of the steps to put some space between himself and their looming presence. So he’d been found out. Not a big deal, really. He could use the presence of the Syndicate as a sort of cover for why he's there. Taako could carry a message back to his fellow crew to beware of their presence. He could work with this. He had no choice but to. Especially now that the door was opening and Taako was coming out to join him. _Brilliant_.

“Hey, nice try,” Taako said from a couple steps behind. He descended further to stand with him, and said in a low tone, “but I think you’re full of shit. You were in the alley, now you’re here, and you definitely didn’t look at me like you’d never seen me before. I’ll concede to a coincidence, but a really fucking unlikely one, all things considered.”

Kravitz sighed. He had worked so hard on his poker face. “Now isn’t the best time to explain to the extent you deserve,” he said, voice low. “You’re only somewhat right. You’re being followed, but not by me. Not intentionally anyway.” 

“Really.” Taako sounded unconvinced. He sidestepped a little closer, and Kravitz didn't move away to compensate. “Fine, fine," Taako continued. "I like a good mystery. So, since we keep meeting like this, do I at least get a name to go along with that nice voice and that handsome face?”

Kravitz gave him a funny look. Was he... flirting? Genuinely? Oh, but up close, he could see so many details. In the darkness, Taako’s skin didn’t glimmer quite so much. Just a few freckles here and there. His eyes were a lovely green flecked with brown and gold. “Erm, it’s Kravitz,” he managed, distractedly.

“Hullo. I’m Taako.” Taako waved his fingers, his smile softening. “Now, I’ve got questions for you, as you can imagine. And whether you admit it or not, you clearly need something from me, so where can we talk? Preferably somewhere away from whatever creep show is going on in there.”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I’m working right now,” Kravitz said, not hiding his reluctance. “But I will look for you tomorrow.” 

“Promise?”

Kravitz’s chest felt oddly tight. “Promise.”

“Now I’m one-hundo-percent certain you’re following me.”

“I did say you were somewhat right,” he said with a small smile. “Just not _you_ specifically.”

Taako scoffed. “If you say so.”

“Anyway, my cello awaits,” Kravitz tipped his head in parting. “A pleasure to meet you, Taako.” He turned to ascend the stairs to the estate with high hopes that the princess would decide she’s up past her bedtime and therefore keen for the party to disperse.

"But the show's over," Taako called up to him. "You're done playing."

Kravitz looked back from partway up the stairs with a grin. "Exactly. I'm knackered."

Taako grinned right back. "That's a shame. It's a nice night."

"And you've got an early start tomorrow, I daresay. Perhaps I'll see you when you return?"

Kravitz did not give him a chance to reply. He swiftly headed into the manor, aware on some level that he was fleeing the scene of a flirtation crime in which he fumbled like a buffoon. But aside from that, he had work to do. Time to take advantage of his access to the servant’s floor to see about this Syndicate spy, and to not think too much about the promise he couldn't keep. 

* * *

The moment Lucretia learned that the estate had a library, she knew just what she’d rather do. Squeezing into a fancy gown and standing around like a deer in a lamplight held no appeal to her. Yes, she’d been trying to get out more, experience the worlds in which they found themselves first-hand instead of jotting down the thrilling accounts of her companions. Vicarious adventure had suited her once upon a time, but after decades upon decades, after losing her friends cycle after cycle and suffering grief while never falling victim to death herself, she finally had begun to take risks. A spontaneous social gathering wasn’t exactly the sort of risk she had in mind. They had a months-long space voyage ahead. There’d be plenty of time later to prove to herself that she wasn’t sinking back into old habits. And so, after assuring Taako and Lup (mostly Taako) that they looked killer in their fussy attire, she set out to do a little research. 

Lucretia found the library after a quick wander. The vaulted, circular room had three floors and shelves bursting with books and scrolls. A spiral staircase rose up at the center of the room like the trunk of a tree, and ornate carvings branched out to form the rails that encircled each floor. Too bad they’d only be here for a night. If she had more time, she’d draw the hell out of this place. 

A small robot with lightsails folded down on its back like insect wings hovered up at the second floor to replace a book with one of its articulated arms. There had been a few robots like this at the House of Guilds, roughly the size of a throw pillow but boxier, with the wing-like structures and two arms. Built to assist in tidying up and fetching tasks. This one was more decorative, with bronze accents sculpted into thorny vines with small roses at each corner giving it the appearance of a mechanical cake.

The wall opposite the entrance door was overtaken by a large unlit hearth. Before it sat a few wingback chairs and a long desk illuminated by stained glass lamps. Lucretia scanned over all the books along the first floor wall, finding a couple that piqued her interest. A biography of the first Archduke of Grandalia, and another of an early Stonesea explorer—both women. When she climbed up to the second floor, the robot stopped as though sensing her, and turned.

“Well met, I am Rose,” it said, a row of lights on its face blinking in different patterns as it spoke in a silted, yet feminine voice. “I can find books, guide you to topics, and reshelve. How do you require my assistance?”

Lucretia smiled, reading the label _R05-3_ carved in the robot’s frame. “Yes, please point me to the geography and history sections.”

“Indeed. Follow me, if you please.”

Rose led her to the requested section and pointed out where it started and ended. “If you require a specific volume, I can locate it for you. Please do not hesitate to ask if you need further assistance.”

Lucretia thanked the robot, and began to skim over the varied book spines before her. It was no surprise that nearly every last one was told from the perspective of imperialists. Perhaps if she had more time she would visit that city library she had her eye on earlier, but for now, she had to make-do. But there were almost no books that predated the empire. Hell, she’d settle for a simple star chart. 

In the end, she managed to find a decent stack of books to wrestle through until she got too tired to read. The music from down the hall soothed her into a comforting focus, and before long she had nearly filled an entire journal with notes and rough sketches of the library. The clock on the fireplace mantle showed that it was already hour ten--just a couple of hours until morning. The thought of it made her yawn. This was difficult to get used to, a day being half a day. She’d been awake for two full Stonesea days and likely wouldn’t get any sleep until they’re finally in space. 

The sound of footsteps pulled her out of a chapter on the generation ship, and she quickly closed the journal next to her and slipped it into her bag.

“Yo, Lucy, still in here?” Lup waltzed into the room fresh from the party, that peach satin brocade gown swishing around her ankles as she freed it from being caught on the corner. Her other hand held a plate of assorted food she had plucked from servers’ trays.

Lucretia exhaled with relief and pulled her journal back out. “Yes, I’m here. Had your fill already?”

“You know it. There’s only so much cultish shenanigans I can handle.” She sat across from Lucretia and placed the food between them. “Find out anything juicy?”

“Not a whole lot, I’m afraid. There’s interesting stuff for sure, but most of it’s just a big ol’ pat on the back to… what’s his name. Cornelius, the ship captain that found the Stonesea.”

Lup laughed and slapped the table. “I swear I’m gonna lose it every time I hear them praise Cornelius.”

Lucretia grinned, Lup’s laughter infectious as always. She popped a small pastry into her mouth and chewed as she made a note.

“So, hit me with it.” Lup said as she began pulling pins from her hair. “What threads are ya pulling on in here. Any ominous magic books?” 

“Actually, there’s a strange lack of books on magic. There were some, but all rudimentary. Basic spells for daily life, that sort of thing. Seems anyone is free to learn that stuff.” She spent a moment turning pages in her journal. “I spent more time looking into the history. It looks like they fled their homeworld almost a thousand years ago, and were adrift for a long time before finding this place. A vast sea of uninhabited stones, as they call them. 

The seeds of the empire started on their generation ship. At the time it was less of an empire and more of a command structure, but that became codified once they decided this was their new home. Obviously not all agreed on how they should do things, and so they spread out to establish their own settlements. Then they were happy to join when they realized what benefits joining the empire could offer. It’s dangerous out there in the cold, dark space.” Lucretia sighed at that. “I’m glad I can suss out a bias when I see one, so I’m going to ask Ayana if she can help me find better sources.”

Lup waggled her eyebrows. “Something tells me she’ll be super into helping you with that.”

Lucretia rolled her eyes and fought off a surge of shyness. “Anyway, I wrote down everything I found. Some things might become clear later. ”

Lup made a motion as though about to cast a flame in her palm, but she stopped short. Her expression darkened for a moment, then she leaned forward with her chin resting on her palm. “So if this place wasn’t inhabited when they got here, if it was just a bunch of big rocks, why pick it?”

Lucretia flipped through her notes. “Well, as Barry mentioned, asteroids are a great source of metals and other resources they need, that’s probably it... Hey, I want to get your read on something. There was this explorer who set out to map the Stonesea. She kept referring to ‘the current’ and ‘gyres.’ I assumed at first that this had something to do with their way of talking about space flight, but I’m not so sure. Look.” Lucretia turned the journal around so that Lup could read a quote.

_There were fortnights when it was just me and the current, dodging stones. Then I’d hit a gyre, and my whole ship would shut down in a dead stop. It would take hours, sometimes days to fix the surge damage once I managed to get life systems back online._

Lup’s brow furrowed after she read. “I don’t know from that alone. Hard to say, coulda been anything. Seems like a Davenport question?”

“Yes, I plan on showing him as well, but you—you’re one of our best arcane scientists,” Lucretia pressed. “How would the ethereal plane interact with a world like this, all broken up across leagues of space?” 

“Hmmm.” Lup ran her fingers through her wavy hair and drew it over one of her shoulders as she looked upward in thought. “I don’t think it should matter unless the material plane itself is also fucked up. I could know more if I was able to cast a ding dang spell.”

“I see…”

Lup jumped in her seat, startled by something, and pulled the comm stone Barry had given her from a hidden pocket in her gown. “Hi babe, sup?”

“Hey, uh, I got some bad news. Well, good news and bad news,” Barry said, his voice small and tinny over the stone.

“Okay, let’s hear the good news first. Lucretia’s with me, by the way.”

“Oh, hey Lucretia. So, the Starblaster is ready ahead of schedule to be moved to the harbor. We let Darunell know in case they can come out and help us earlier,” Barry said.

“Good, good. Now what’s the bad news? Please don’t say we’re out of those ice cream sandwiches Taako made already. I told Magnus to only eat one at a time.” 

“Uh, I wish that was it, trust me. We need to get those fucking bracelets off you guys as soon as fucking possible. You might be okay, but Taako—his life is now definitely cut short by a few hours, if not more.”

“Oh, shit,” Lucretia said. “Like, permanently or—”

“We’d better fucking hope not. Best to be careful, so hold out for just a few more hours. Don’t even so much as look like you’re gonna cast a fucking spell.”

“You got it, honeybun,” Lup said, clasping her hands together in her lap. “I’ll also do my best to not hold it over his head that his life is now shorter than mine by a couple hours. Double whammy, poor guy. First he’s not the prettiest twin, and now he’s gonna die young.”

“Lup this is serious,” Lucretia said.

“Dark humor is how I cope. Also we’re elves, so it’s not that much.” She held up her hands defensively at Lucretia’s stern look. “But I get it! I get it. It’s scary shit.”

Lucretia began to pack up her things, the threat to her friends’ life washing away any interest she had in delving further into research. As she set aside the stack of books, the robot hovered out from the shadows under the tree-stairs and stopped right near the table.

Lup yelped and almost dropped the comm stone. “Holy heck, don’t do that!”

The lights along the robot’s front panel blinked in an undulating rhythm. “Understood. I will leave the books on the table until otherwise directed.”

Lucretia had almost forgotten about the robot. She went back over everything they discussed in her mind, and of course nearly all of it was rather careless considering where they were. What the hell was she thinking? The Starblaster launch couldn’t come quickly enough.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning this chapter for mild violence (including knife wound, blood, weapons) at the end.
> 
> Thank you to thimbleful and desiree-harding for the beta--you're both wonderful.

Call it hypervigilance fatigue, or just a lazy mistake, either way this was bound to bite them in the ass.

Lup stood and smoothed out the borrowed gown, her gaze trained on the robot as it turned to hover away. “Get ready to go,” she said evenly to Lucretia without taking her eyes off her target. “And stand back.”

Lucretia looked confused, but didn’t argue. She shoved her journals back into her shoulder bag and stood away from the desk.

Then, before Lup could second guess it, she grabbed R05-3 and slammed it to the ground. It sparked and wound down, cogs grinding to a stop. A panel fell open with a slap, pieces of wing and metal bits plinked against the wooden floor. 

“Oh!” Lucretia drew back in alarm. 

“Oops. Didn’t consider how loud that might be.” 

“Good gods! Lup, what—” Lucretia groaned. “Shit. Let me just... ” She took the books from the table and strategically spread them out on the floor, some open and askew to make it appear as though they’d been accidentally knocked off the table. “Hmm, still not good. Now that just looks like we threw books at it.”

“S’fine. Help me smuggle this thing,” Lup whispered. 

“ _What?_ ”

“They take something from us without asking, we’ll take right back.” Lup hiked up her petticoats and searched to find the ties of the bum roll around her waist. “Aaand it’s a librarian. Invaluable asset if you ask me.”

“I won’t question how serious you are again,” Lucretia whispered back, face pinched in concern. “But I think this is just a bit on the reckless side.” Even as she said this, she packed all the loose robot bits into her shoulder bag, including a very crumpled lightsail wing. Lucretia was down to steal this nerdbot. 

Lup smiled at her. She then proceeded to hook the robot to the ties of her bum roll, made sure it was secure, and dropped the petticoats. A short pace before the unlit fireplace proved her handiwork was secure. It swayed oddly, but the poofy folds of material helped hide any odd boxy shapes. Nothing she could do about that creaky metallic noise it made, however.

Lucretia shook her head. “This is bound to be worse for us, you know this, Lup.”

“But it could also be extremely good for us.” 

Footsteps approached from the hallway. Lup gasped softly, and grabbed Lucretia’s hand to pull her around to the far side of the central staircase. They should be well hidden behind the tree trunk base and its curving rail-branches as long as whoever it was didn’t walk beyond the stairs.

A few second spassed. There was a shuffle of skirts, then silence. Lup peered through a narrow opening between carved leafy limbs that formed the railing. A housemaid stood just inside the room. She looked around confusedly and spotted the books on the floor.

“Anyone here?” she asked, and walked over to pick up the books.

Lup held her breath. The maid was so close she could see the lacey rose patterns on her dress collar. Lucretia hadn’t let go of her hand, so Lup squeezed it tighter.

“That daft automech is on the fritz again, I swear.” The maid set the books on a side table and wandered out. 

Lup waited until the footsteps faded into the distance, then relaxed with a lean against the stair. She dropped Lucretia’s hand. “That was close.”

Lucretia grabbed her shoulder bag strap with both hands, brow furrowed and lips pressed together. She really could be cute when she was afraid of getting in trouble. 

“Let’s go before anyone else comes to check on things,” Lup said. “We got off too easy.” 

They hurried to the door and peered out into the hallway. With the coast clear, Lup led the way toward the grand foyer. They passed dizzying floral wallpaper and gilded paintings of somber imperial relatives. The walls and doors were framed in extravagant, gold-painted carvings of vines and flowers. It was beautiful, but excessive and disorienting given that they were in the midst of a space-faring society. 

The robot flapped uncomfortably against the back of Lup’s thighs, and her bum roll started to feel heavy as it shifted lower on her hips. At her side, Lucretia looked determined, and strangely unworried compared to moments ago. She found comfort in that. Lup might’ve had a fire lit under her at the moment, but Lucretia’s enduring presence helped keep her from going too far astray. 

At last, they made it to the grand foyer. The dispersing guests and their chatter afforded enough of a distraction so that they could walk up the blue velvet-lined stairs without concern for where they’d been, or without anyone asking what that weird squeaky sound was coming from Lup’s skirt.

They reached a landing partway up where a bench and a voluminous ornamental plant sat overlooking the room. Lup paused to peer around for Taako. She had left him at the base of the stairs, but he might’ve decided to head to his room already. If he knew what was good for him.

“Lup?” Lucretia said from the steps above.

Lup chewed her lip, then rushed to catch up. 

The hallway leading to their bedchamber was quieter. A different maid stood outside of their door—the one who had helped her into the gown earlier that evening.

“Ready to turn in? Would you need assistance with your gown, my lady?” the maid asked.

“No, but thank you.” Lup smiled with just a bit too much teeth. 

The maid nodded gracefully and left. 

Lup and Lucretia entered the bedchamber and closed the door behind. Lup sagged and looked upward. “Fuck me. What’ve I done?” 

“ _Now_ you worry. Here, before we run into anyone else.” Lucretia lifted the back of Lup’s skirt and petticoats. She unhooked the robot from the bum roll, then stashed it under the bed. The quilt draped over the sides just low enough to necessitate crouching in order to see whether anything was underneath.

Lup began to peel away the layers of her gown and draped them over the vanity bench. Her stomach sank oddly as she gave the dark gap under the bed a hard stare. “I really hope nobody’s soul was in that thing.”

“This place is unsettling, but it isn’t the Tiered City. I think they’re ordinary machines. I saw them in the Hall of Guilds.” Lucretia slipped out of her shoes and finally put down her bag. 

“Soul or no, it’s all banged up now. Didn’t think it would just fall to pieces like that,” Lup said.

Lucretia smiled. “Not to worry. I know just who can help us fix it.”

* * *

Taako wanted to keep talking to Kravitz. He was the first non-irritating person he’d met so far here. Yeah, he smelled good, and he was nice to look at, but he was also not an utter tool, and that put him squarely in the cool with Taako zone. But Taako had essentially flirted with Kravitz while he was _working_. What a loser move. So when Kravitz tipped his head and went back inside, Taako remained firmly in place. 

The sounds of nearby marsh creatures rushed in to fill the silence. With nothing better to do, Taako stared upward at the stars. There were so many that they formed immense clusters that splashed across the sky. Some drifted by slowly, presumably asteroids or lightsail ships. In one stretch of sky bloomed a distant nebula, bluegreen and purple clouds suspended like ink dipped in black water. It was all breathtaking, sure. Shame that in a year from now they’d be swallowed up by siege of immense tendrils and a storm full of eyes. It didn’t matter that he had seen it happen so many times before. Didn’t matter how many people he’d watched die or how many they left behind to fight until the Hunger realized they were gone and went on to chase them again. It would terrify him every time. 

But Taako had gotten used to the way it felt to settle into a place only to have it ripped away from him. Such was his life ever since he was small. It did make it difficult to really dig his senses into the enduring charm of a place, or to let people touch his heart beyond him finding them useful or decent company. The price to pay in order to fend off repeated attacks from a galaxy-sized entropy storm. 

Ugh, what was he _doing_? Introspection? Fuck that. Taako went back inside before he could do much more of it. 

The grand foyer was no longer empty, to his dismay. Guests stood around indulging in long-winded farewells. Taako glanced to the room where they had enjoyed the music. Kravitz was there with his fellow instrumentalists, fingers tense around the handle of his cello case as he seemed to struggle through a conversation with one of the nobles. Poor fella really wanted to get the hell out of there, and who could blame him? Taako fought the urge to rescue him from his discomfort, and headed upstairs for his bedchamber. 

He entered to find the lamp on the bedside table had been left on, and Lup standing by the closed balcony doors. She had traded the gown and complicated up-do for leggings, an off-shoulder tunic, and hair up in a side ponytail. Taako closed the door and turned the lock. Lup finally looked at him, a shadow over her expression that instantly put him on edge.

“Lu—you okay?”

“Where were you? I went to find ‘Creesh, and you were gone.”

“Went outside for some fresh air. The stars are nice here.”

She glanced outside through the sheer curtains. “I guess they are. So, I heard from Barry,” she said, in elvish now.

Taako removed the fancy brocade jacket and draped it over a nearby chair. He switched to elvish as he responded, “Oh yeah? What’d he say?”

“Any time you’ve used magic with that bracelet on, it leeched the life right out of your body.”

Taako blinked, hands paused at the cufflinks at his wrist. “Okay…”

“They essentially mined magic right out of your bones. Took two hours of your _LIFE_.”

“Well that’s not great.” He sighed and resumed unfastening the cufflink so he could roll up his shirtsleeves. “I’ll stay away from magic until Barry can get the bracelet off, but I mean, it won’t matter until I’m about to keel over and my decadent chocolate pie with raspberry ganache isn’t out of the oven yet. More for you though, right?”

Lup laughed, but it held none of its usual humor. “Taako, I’m—I’m seriously ready to burn this place down. My emotions are all over the place. We’ve been to some messed up worlds, but this? It’s hard to say, well, just a matter of scooping up the Light then we can go on our merry way and leave it up to a cultish empire to be fair and just about picking up the pieces.” She pulled at the bracelet on her wrist. “I wanted to laugh when Barry told me. We’ve been through so much, sometimes I’m not sure how to, you know… _deal_ with things properly anymore.”

“Yeah, I hear you. It’s a violation, you know?”

“Right. Yes, exactly. And I want to scream—you’re all in danger! This shit isn’t helping! And—” A yawn caught her before she could rant further. 

Taako frowned at how exhausted she looked. “You haven’t tried to cast any magic have you?” 

“No, I'm not a ding-dong like you.” 

“Pfft. Okay. What about Lucretia?”

Lup tilted her head. “Not to my knowledge. She told them she can’t do magic to get out of the permit, I think.”

“Interesting. Well, I’m just saying. What if she tried? She has no bracelet, right? They’re so obsessed with us being elves, yet they don’t seem to be aware that humans can tap into the ethereal plane just as well.”

“Huh. I’ll ask her. Now that you mention it, haven’t seen any humans here, only half elves. Well, what we’d consider half elf.” She folded her arms and began to pace. “Hey—speaking of Lucretia. We um… did something earlier.”

“Uh…don’t want to hear about it,” he said, sing-song. “I thought you got that out of your system a while ago.”

“Not that! God, Taako. We…,” she made air quotes, “borrowed something. You’ll see.”

He shrugged and unbuttoned his waistcoat. Which, speaking of borrowing things, he fully intended on borrowing it right into his bag because it made his figure look fucking incredible. “You don’t gotta confess it to me. I’d Robin Hood the shit outta this place if we had time.”

“Oh yeah? You’d give it to the poor would you?”

“I _am_ the poor!” 

Lup laughed, and this time it was genuine. 

Taako smiled sleepily at her. “I’m also beat as hell. How much time we got till the Starblaster gets here?”

“Few hours. Four tops? It’s almost dawn. Gives us about an hour to rest.”

Taako groaned and fell face first on the bed. It was not nearly as soft of a landing as he hoped. 

“If they actually let us go that is,” Lup added.

“Don’t you dare say that.” Taako’s voice was muffled by the quilt.

“Hmm. Actually I think they will let us go. You heard what the princess said to us. ‘ _Thank you for blessing our world with your light.’_ I kinda think it was literal. I think she was talking about the Light of Creation. D’you think they’re hoping we lead them to it?”

“Nnngghhhh. My brain is officially shutting down. All I care about right now is closing my eyes and having a short but nice little dream about a cute guy I saw earlier,” Taako said, rolling slightly so he could bring his knees up to the bed and lie atop it.

Lup snorted. “So, telling me the stars are nice here _was_ code for chatting up a cute boy.”

Taako made snoring sounds in lieu of answering. He eventually heard the door shut, so he finished removing his borrowed clothes, and stretched out on the bed. 

But as sleepy as he was, he couldn’t slip into a restful trance. Not in this strange bed. Not in this creepy house. Not in this weird, scattered world with its short days and its invasive safety protocols. Didn't help that there was some weird animal outside making noise. He pointedly tried not to think about Kravitz. He tried not to think about those deep brown eyes, or the kindness in his voice. Instead, he focused on what sort of reason Kravitz would give tomorrow for following-him-but-not-following- _him_. What warnings would he deliver? If he even showed up, and Taako hoped he wouldn’t. Better to be disappointed now than to spend a whole year getting to know him only to never see him again.

Taako turned to his other side, and heaved a big sigh. It’d been fifty? sixty? years since he truly and honestly fell for someone, and losing that one had been a kind of devastation he didn’t want to feel again. He was way over it by now. Barely even thought about it. Those once-immense emotions had been deftly transmuted into distant sad memories and subconscious coping mechanisms. He certainly didn’t need more of those. 

Sure, there’d been a few scattered almosts over the cycles. Flirtatious friendships, chaste kisses, vague notions of pining. Nothing too physical or intimate; he knew when to cut the bonds before they burrowed in too deep. As long as he had his Starblaster family, he was content. 

But another almost wouldn’t hurt. 

* * *

Kravitz caught a glimpse of Taako as he headed for the stairwell to the servant’s floor. He was trudging up the grand staircase, looking as tired as Kravitz felt, so he left him alone. Also, he had to take care of this little Syndicate problem. Gods, he hoped it wouldn’t be a whole thing. He _really_ wanted to get the hell out of there.

The servant’s area was busy as he assumed it might be. Kitchen staff rushed about to clean up the used dishes, and prepare food for the morning. It would appear several guests had been invited to stay the night, judging by the frantic nature that the head cook dictated the menu to her staff. 

Several other servants sat at a long, time-worn table to talk and eat. They made room for him and the other instrumentalists, who settled into the ongoing conversation with ease. Kravitz indulged in a few bites while he kept an eye out for the Syndicate operative. He waited for some time, and began to worry he’d been wrong, when things started to happen.

A footman and the spy walked together down the dark, narrow corridor that led to the back exit. They had a little flirt, and the footman slipped something into the spy’s pocket. 

“Now hurry before it’s too late to come back,” he said. Or, Kravitz thinks he heard. 

The spy grinned at the footman, brought his hand to his lips for a kiss, then went outside. 

Kravitz waited until the footman went into a washroom before he said his farewells and headed down the same hall. He found a coat closet there, and ducked inside to hastily withdraw his hooded cloak and a sheathed dagger from a hidden compartment in his cello case. The cloak was enchanted to keep him unseen as long as he made no physical contact, and the dagger’s edge was laced with truth-compelling toxin. He affixed it to his belt, and left to follow the spy.

The estate’s back garden was gently dappled in starlight. Hedgerows and flowerbeds sculpted by master gardeners spiraled out in a pattern that might be nice to walk through if he weren’t on the trail of a rival operative. He left his cello behind the thorny brambles of a blue rose bush, and moved to a place where he could have a better view of the back of the house. The ground floor was still lit up for the party, and long stretches of light from the windows lay across his path. 

The spy was already a quarter of the way up the stone façade using an ivy trellis for leverage. Diagonally above him was a small balcony on the first floor. Guest lodging would typically be found on the first floor. Kravitz’s jaw clenched.

The hour had struck eleven long ago, so his daily magical allotment was replenished. He used a bit of it to enhance his advantage over the unsuspecting spy, and rushed forward. 

Before the spy could pull his foot up to a ledge out of Kravitz’s reach, Kravitz grabbed his foot and yanked downward. The spy yelped, and fell into a hedge below. But with a deftness that caught Kravitz off guard, he leapt from the hedge and drew a knife from his hip. 

The spy grinned. “Ahh, they warned me a bird might show up,” he said, shifting into a defensive posture. 

Kravitz walked a wide arc around the man, almost casual. His cloak swayed at his ankles, its hood pulled low to keep his face in shadow. “They’re under our protection,” Kravitz lied. “So, go back to your den and inform your boss.”

The man laughed, and made a sign with his hand. Two others peeled away from the shadows and flanked Kravitz on either side. One brandished a pistol, the other a rapier. They wore the typical dark gray, padded leather uniform of a Syndicate operative.

Kravitz held his position. “What’s all this, then? Guess you’re up for a fight, s’that it?”

“Go home, birdie. Three against one,” said the one with the pistol. “How’s about you let us carry out our business, and we’ll be on our way. Won’t even tell our boss we ran into ya.”

“Can’t let that happen, I’m afraid. Like I said —they’re protected.”

The one on his right, with the rapier, moved first. He was fast, but Kravitz waited until the last moment to move aside. The foe staggered a few more steps from the momentum, and soon found himself facing the barrel of his companion’s pistol. She raised her pistol with a curse, and tried to move to the side to find another clear shot of Kravitz. Anticipating this, Kravitz rushed shoulder first into rapier-guy, whose blade caught nothing but air once again as he was knocked forward. 

“The fuck’s wrong with you?” Pistol-lady hissed. “Take him out or quit gettin’ in the way!”

“He’s doing it, not me!” Rapier-guy whined.

“You’re both gonna get us caught!” said the spy, who seemed far more inclined to watch than fight himself. 

While they were distracted, Kravitz tugged back his collar and pulled a small ocarina on a necklace from his shirt. There was just enough time to play a quick confusion spell. A brief melody trilled across the gardens. He hoped everyone was too distracted inside to notice.

As the magic settled in, rapier-guy and pistol-lady began to tussle in an effort to disarm each other. The spy just up and ran away. Kravitz followed him down a winding pathway that led away from the gardens and by the marsh. He got close enough to grab the spy’s shoulder, but he swung around and jabbed a fist into Kravitz’s stomach. Kravitz coughed and doubled over. It gave his opponent enough time to brandish his knife again, and soon the two were dancing around each other’s blades.

After easily evading a few unwieldy slashes from the spy, Kravitz caught him by the ankle with his boot and knocked him down to his stomach. He tried to roll over, but Kravitz was too quick. He grabbed his arm, twisted it backward at a painful angle and pressed his knee into his back.

“Ahhhh! S-stop! Please!” he cried, face pressing into the mud.

Kravitz let his weight up slightly from the man’s back, but as long as he kept a firm grip on his arm, he wouldn’t budge. “Tell me what you’re doing here.”

“Havin’ a bit of a plunder of an imperial estate, nothin’ you wouldn’t do!”

Kravitz tisked and rested the blade of his dagger against the side of the man’s throat. “Not in the mood for your fibbin’, mate. One last time—and I feel like I’m asking rather nicely, don’t you agree? Why are you here?” 

“Fuck you!” He struggled, but it only managed to suction himself more firmly into the muck. “Won’t even let me see your face, ya bloody coward!”

Kravitz pulled the dagger across his skin to carve a shallow wound just under his jaw. The truth toxin seeped into his bloodstream. Enough to loosen him up, but not enough to make him suspect he’d been dosed. 

The spy winced and sucked in through his teeth. “A-ah! Please! Don’t kill me!”

Kravitz swiped the blade over his cloak to clean the little bit of blood there, and pushed it back into its sheath. “I know you lot wouldn’t go through so much trouble for silverware. Out with it.”

“Okay, okay!” the man said, weaker, after a moment. “W-we’re after one of them aliens.”

“Which one?”

“I-I don’t know; any of ‘em! We just w-want answers. Th-they know how to find that comet-thing. Was gonna knock ‘em around a bit, you know.”

“I thought we had an agreement, your bosses and mine. No torture in exchange for access to the unseen market,” Kravitz said.

“The what? I-I don’t know nothin’ about that. Greyspar don’t make deals with birdies.”

Well, that answered one question. There was no unseen market, at least not in the literal sense. A syndicate initiate wouldn't realize this. The _real_ agreement was no torture, no inhumane treatment, or two of the Syndicate’s major smuggling routes through the Stonesea would be taken down. A bunch of other deals branched off of that one, but that was the one they were most afraid of losing. Didn’t mean they weren’t doing it, just meant they were keen to not let the Collective know about it.

Kravitz let go of his arm and pushed him over to his back. The guy scrambled, scuffed up, bloody, and afraid. He looked young, no more than twenty. Clearly vying for his boss’s favor with a kidnapping job like this.

Kravitz pinned him with a glare, which after everything was enough to keep him in place. “You’re new at this. Not bad, you are, but clearly you’ve been hazed. Like I said, tell Greyspar the offworlders are under _our_ protection. Another slip like this and it’s no more mister nice bird.”

“O-Okay, _okay_.”

“Call off the other dogs, too.”

The spy stumbled as he ran away, a hand held to his neck to stifle the trickle of blood.

Kravitz made sure the three of them had left the grounds, and went back for his cello. Adrenaline ebbed from his bloodstream, leaving him beyond exhausted. The swift turn of night into day had already begun, as muted shades of violet and pink suffused the distant horizon. Only the closest stars remained visible there. 

He glanced up at the balcony where he hoped the offworlders remained unharmed. After a whispered plea for their safety to his god, he made his way back to his flat. There was still a small amount of time to pick up the things he wanted to bring on his mission before he was due at the Collective’s hangar. No time for rest. That’d have to come later, perhaps while lingering in orbit in wait for the Starblaster repairs to be completed. 

There was also no time to keep his promise to Taako, as he feared there wouldn’t be. For now exhaustion was stronger than guilt. He took out his farspeech stone to relay a message to Ayana.

_Syndicate is involved. Spent half the night preventing them from stealing away one of the offworlders. Be careful. Tell Taako — Nevermind. Ignore that. Be in touch. I’ll be waiting in orbit._   
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my wonderful betas thimbleful and desiree-harding <3 <3 And thank you all for reading my fic. I love your comments!
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: sexual innuendo/jokes, mild alcohol use, blood talk

Sleep, elven trance, restful meditation—these are all things that Taako did not get to enjoy even a little bit. The housemaids had awoken them at the crack of dawn, and shuffled them outside to wait for Lt. Finley’s hovercoach without so much as a complimentary muffin. Rude as hell. Apparently Davenport had something to do with it, so Taako refrained from being too difficult about the whole thing. 

Now he stood before the boring estate lawn with not much to do other than ruminate over his embarrassing late night yearn sesh. One handsome man plays a cello and he’s ready to chart out their entire year together. He should be stronger than that. Lack of adequate rest was the only explanation for it. Good thing the imperial stagecoaches were comfortable, because he planned to zonk out as soon as he sat down.

At least he wasn’t alone in his misery. Lucretia stood next to him covering a constant stream of yawns. Lup, who sat on the step by his feet, could barely hold on to her conversation with Barry over the comm stone without dozing off and resting her head against Taako’s leg. 

“How’s Barry?” Taako asked.

Lup mumbled something indiscernible. 

“Cool.”

He resigned himself to enjoying the view. The world was still and peaceful, but eerie without songbirds to herald the day. A dull morning glow spread gradually over the rooftops of buildings in the distance. Something hovered in the sky, and it took him a moment to realize it was a small lightsail ship and not a huge bird. Its side and overhead sails adjusted position like the fins of a fish as it maneuvered over the skyline. _Fish_! That’s what they all looked like. Great wooden fish with elegant fins taking to the air. His stomach growled.

“Mmm…Is anyone else _dying_ for a plate of fried fish? A sprinkle of vinegar, wedge of lemon, salt, crisply fried potato just steaming and—”

“ _Taako_ , stop. Absolutely not,” Lup admonished with a light smack to his leg. “All I want right now is a gallon of coffee and maybe a stack of waffles.” She slipped the stone back into her robe’s outer pocket, her conversation with Barry apparently over.

He shrugged. “More for me.”

“I’ll take a gallon of coffee as well,” Lucretia said, and added in elven, spoken in that perfectly practiced highborn accent she probably learned at university: “ _Lup, you sure—”_ yawn _, “—they won’t notice? I’m so anxious it feels as though any moment they will burst through that door and ask that we turn out our pockets_.” 

“ _Nah. There’s nothing to worry about, trust me_ ,” she said with a big stretch, her elven dialect far less posh in comparison.

Taako hummed in agreement. “ _We’re fine. Nobody noticed. Anywho, imagine them asking us if we have a whole ass robot. I mean, we obviously_ don’t _._ ”

“Touché.” Lucretia opened the flap to her bag to find a journal, then began to write something down as she wandered around the gravel drive. 

After the first few cycles of having to lug around heavy backpacks for supplies and assets, Lup and Taako got sick of it and worked out a way to magically sew a dimensional pocket on the inside of the backup robes and jackets they kept on the Starblaster. Not as big of an extradimensional space as the bag of holding, but certainly large enough to smuggle the pieces of a small robot. Lup had remembered to grab her enhanced robe before they headed out, so that’s where the robot took up residence. Along with that nice waistcoat.

Finally, _finally_ the imperial hovercoach arrived. It floated silently to a stop before them, and a coachperson hopped down to open the door. As foretold, the moment Taako’s ass hit the seat, he leaned against the cushioned wall and closed his eyes. If he didn’t get at least another hour in at some point, he’d be ready to settle down with Kravitz the next time he saw him, and that just wasn’t a good look. The gentle sway of the hovercoach managed to help him trance out completely until the doors were opened and a rush of cool, fishy air blew in from the harbor.

Lt. Finley greeted them with his feathered helm tucked under his arm. His light brown hair was brushed back neatly as though he hadn’t been wearing it, which had to involve some kind of magic. He led the way through halberd-wielding sentinels and down a side path to the harbor. Lup had settled a glare on him nearly the whole way.

“You okay, Lup?” Taako asked quietly as they followed.

“Yeah, trying to decide if I should make a scene or not.”

“About?”

She held up her wrist to indicate the bracelet. 

“Eh, why bother? Fuck ‘em. We know we can deal with it ourselves.” He slid his finger under the band of his bracelet and made a slicing motion.

“But your life, Taako. How are you so blase about this?”

“I’m not the one who gave them samples of my _blood_.”

“You think I did?”

Taako gave her major side-eye. “Okay, yeah, ask him.”

“Hey, uh, Lieutenant Finley?” Lup said, jogging to catch up to him. 

Taako did the same so that they flanked him. 

Finley looked from one to the other warily. “Yes, dear?”

“When are we getting these removed? Do you expect us to wear them the whole time we’re here?”

“You,” he tipped his head toward Lup, “can take yours off once you’ve left Grandalia’s atmosphere. I’ll make sure Darunell knows how to properly remove it. You, however,” he tipped his head toward Taako, “must keep yours on indefinitely.”

“Now hold on—” Taako sputtered.

“You didn’t agree to the terms.”

Taako rolled his eyes. “That’s ‘cause I didn’t want to give you my _blood_ , fuck. Can we, like, get a move on? I love you Lup, but this convo ain’t going anywhere.”

“One mo’,” Lup tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “You said they just alter perception so we don’t stand out, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“You sure that’s all?”

“Of course. What else?”

“We could always just cut them off any old time, you know.” Taako looked at his fingernails. “Why are we bothering asking this clown for permission?”

Lt. Finley’s eyes widened. “Listen, don’t do that. Not here.”

“Why not?” Lup pressed.

“I— _fine._ ” He stopped and motioned for the guards to shield them. He lowered his voice. “You see, unpredictable things happen when one isn’t woven into our magic field. Elves are, how shall I put this, your thread is too large for our needles—”

Taako snorted. It took Lup a second, but a smirk soon broke across her face. 

“—so we can’t possibly connect you to it. And—blimey, what’s so funny?”

“We get it, we get it. Our meat’s too huge,” said Taako through his laughter. “Need to get some arcane lube up in there, huh?”

Lup cracked up at that.

“Erm… I… What? Why are you—what is happening right now?”

“Nevermind that, my brother’s a bit immature.” Lup wiped a tear from her eye. “He’s also going through a looong dry spell, you can’t fault him for it.”

“Hey!”

“Okay—” she breathed to calm her laughter. “But all that shouldn’t matter once we’re out there, right? What’s it matter to your ‘terms’ if Taako has it on or not then?”

Lt. Finley pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s the law, my dear. Listen. I’ve been exposed to gyres enough so that your unwoven magical nature doesn’t affect me too much. Same is true for many of the guards you see here. But I guarantee you that no one else has been, and since your brother did not agree to the terms we won’t be able to even attempt to connect him to the network, as it were.”

There’s that word again. _Gyre_. The people that had followed him into the alley mentioned it. Taako knew what it meant in a general sense, but it clearly meant something specific here. It made him desperately want to press further about the necromantic component of the bracelet as well, but Lup had said Barry warned them not to bring it up. 

Lup’s expression was more difficult to parse with the perception filter, and Taako fucking hated that. He was so used to being able to read her microexpressions like his own mind. But if he had to guess, he sensed that she believed Lt. Finley knew nothing more than what he said. Which is great, because then they were on the same page. 

Lt. Finley resumed leading the way the remainder of the short distance to the harbor when neither elf made further attempts to press him on the matter.

Which was fine, because it left Taako’s mind completely as the Starblaster came into view. His heart literally skipped a beat. His _bed_ was in there. Cabinets full of food. A hot shower… She was moored there like any other boat, bond engine rotating slowly at her stern with the currents of unseen energy. The main lightsail mast had already been assembled and was lifting on a crane into place, and three other wing mounts were being welded along the side. It was impressive for it being only a couple hours past dawn. 

Workers from the Hall of Guilds darted to and fro across a gangplank as they helped prepare the Starblaster for safe travel through the Stonesea. Workstations had been set up along the perimeter of the boardwalk with banners representing the Hall of Guilds flying high. Darunell, the guildhall master, headed up one of the larger workstations on which rested long spools of lightsail material. And there was Davenport, balanced on a crate to reach the table so he could inspect the gossamer fabric. Interesting that no one seemed as shocked to see a gnome, tail and all, standing out in the open.

Shouts arose from the far side of the harbor where dock workers ran up the boardwalk with heavy rope. It was hard to miss what set them into motion. In the distance, a massive lightsail ship glided to a gentle landing on the water. Long tree trunks were strapped to the ship’s flat deck in a great bundle, and its many sail-fins pivoted with the shifting weight to keep it from tipping over. Waves fanned out from its hull. Buoy bells rang, and moored boats rocked as they reached the harbor. 

In the middle of all of this, the regular fishing boats had just finished unloading their hauls for the market. Grimy fisherfolk were settled on the dockside porch of the Sickle and Thorn with steaming mugs and lit pipes. They watched the work being done to the Starblaster with muttered comments and dubious expressions.

Taako discreetly inspected the assortment of folks around the harbor and tavern porch for a certain familiar face. No dice; at least not yet. It was still early anyway, and it should be easy enough for Kravitz to find Taako as long as he remained near the Starblaster. He gave everyone another once-over, this time for suspicious activity, but no one seemed out of place. That almost worried him more. 

Lt. Finley clasped his hands behind his back. “So. One more thing to catch you up before you’re free to mingle with your fellow shipmates. I received word from His Imperial Majesty that whoever captures and brings the Comet Enigma to him unscathed will receive their choice between a title and land or enough platinum to comfortably live out your days.”

“The _what_ now?” Taako asked. 

“The Comet Enigma—”

“Light of Creation,” Taako corrected. “It _is_ capitalized. That debate’s been settled.”

“Well, His Imperial Majesty prefers to call it the Comet Enigma. Also capitalized.”

Taako scoffed. “I don’t give a shit! You can’t just rename things. This isn’t a fun game. You say you talked to the captain? Did he mention we’re here to save your asses from imminent destruction? There’s a whole lot of death and what not heading your way, and you’re out here making plans for an interplanetary grand prix?”

Lup put a reassuring hand on Taako’s shoulder and stepped up to his side. A few people nearby gave them wary glances. “What Taako is saying is that we’re very grateful for all the help you’ve offered in getting our ship back to space-worthy status, but there has to be some mistake. The captain wouldn’t agree to something that…well, frankly, that goofy.” 

“I mean,” Lucretia said, “he isn’t beyond making some goofy-ass decisions, but not this. This could impede our entire purpose here. Someone other than us could reach it first. What is the emperor going to do with it once he has it? Will he hand it over to us?”

“You seem to be missing the point here. It’s not a _race_ ,” Lt. Finley said through clenched teeth, the thin veneer of his patience appearing to crumble before their eyes. “What’s there to agree or disagree with? It’s an imperial decree.”

“I mean, we could just leave,” Taako said.

Lup glared at him.

“...but we _won’t_ ,” he added. “There’s a lot of innocent people out there, right?”

“And not so innocent, sure.” Lt. Finley leaned closer to them, now serious and sincere. “We have reason to suspect that some of the Stonesea’s more unscrupulous factions are already in the process of tracking it down. Say what you want about the empire, but you do not want your precious Light of Creation falling into their hands. We are doing what we can to cover the expenses of outfitting your ship. See that you do not lose.”

Taako bristled and tried not to think of Kravitz’s vague warnings. He looked away, mood darkening by the second. The big, impressive lumber ship had already pulled into the docks on the far side of the harbor, but even that wasn’t as interesting anymore.

“Well then,” Lucretia said. “If you don’t mind, we would like to talk this over with our captain.”

Lt. Finley stood aside and gestured with a flourish. “Of course.”

She power walked past him and straight for Davenport. 

As much as Taako would like to overhear that conversation, he desperately needed to find some peace and quiet or he was going to pick arguments with everyone the rest of the day. He breezed straight through the busy workers for the Starblaster gangplank. Lup followed along, but peeled away when she saw Barry struggling to carry a contraption that looked like an astrolabe soldered an old typewriter. Taako might’ve attempted to help them, but seeing as how they could kiss while balancing it between them, he didn’t feel too guilty about not asking.

Inside the Starblaster was definitely quieter, but not by much. He didn’t expect to get any actual rest with all the muffled drilling and hammering and what not going on outside, but a quick shower would suffice. He washed away the grime and changed into fresh clothes, then made the horrible mistake of looking at himself in the mirror. 

It was…. atrocious… what this fucking bracelet did to his complexion. And his hair— _ugh_ . He ran his fingers through the dull blond strands. Poked at a few blotchy freckles on his cheeks. Frowned at the lack of golden lustre in his hazel-green eyes. So this is what he’d look like as a non-elf without access to a single arcane cosmetic. Still not bad-looking, but not his best. Technically he _could_ touch up his roots with a little magic if he didn’t mind losing a bit of life in the exchange. Or maybe he’d go full natural brown again this cycle. 

“Come on, Taako, just a few more hours. You can tough it out.”

He turned his head side to side and inspected the shorter ears. Given his grumpy mood they should be tilted downward, and they were, but it was harder to tell. They weren’t nearly as expressive, which might be the only good thing about this look. Controlling the natural emotiveness of his ears all the time to obfuscate his feelings wasn’t easy. 

With a grumble, he swooped into his IPRE jacket, shouldered out of the bathroom door, and almost knocked over Lucretia who was in the middle of giving a tour to the artificer lady from the guild hall. 

She smiled at Taako, the chair allowing her to hover at about chin height. Brass goggles were lowered over her face, making her brown eyes look huge.

“Oh!” Lucretia gestured between the two of them. “I believe you’ve briefly met our resident arcanist and chef, Taako. Taako, you remember Ayana, right?”

“Of course!” 

“Well met!” Ayana tilted her head at him with a knowing little smile. “So you’re Taako.” 

“Yeees?”

“Just putting the face to the name.” 

He sucked through his teeth. “You know that’s like, probably not necessary yet. Wait till we’re up there, or at night. For some reason it doesn’t work at night.”

“What, the filter?” She laughed and tapped her goggles. “See right through it, mate.”

“Oh. Huh.” 

“Ayana is going to join us on our journey so she can do some research for the guild,” Lucretia said. 

Taako gave a showy bow. “Well then, pleasure to meet you again. Nice goggles. Cool chair. Welcome aboard!”

“Thank you!” Ayana leaned in closer and motioned to his bracelet. “We’ll take care of that rubbish soon as we’re out there.” One huge eye winked. 

“Thank fuck.” Taako grinned. “Don’t let me keep you. Enjoy the tour.”

He headed for the upper deck, but on his way past the galley caught Merle sneaking a handful of cookies from the jar on the counter. 

“Merle, my dude, it’s like the oldest trope in the book,” Taako said. “You know those’re the gamblin’ cookies.” 

He and Lup made it a ritual to bake seven dozen cookies any time all of them survived a cycle, then use them to play poker at the start of the next. It had only been a couple of days and they were nearly gone already without a single wager in the mix. 

“Ahh well, I can’t help it.” Merle let out a big sigh as he sat down in his chair. He had bits of plant material stuck in his hair and beard, and his clothes were scuffed up with dirt. “It’s hungry work out there tending to that beautiful field of wheat.”

“Thought it was oats.”

“It’s emmer, technically, but they don’t mind.” Merle smiled, wrinkles around his eyes standing out, as he shoved a whole cookie in his mouth.

“Riiight. So you made nice with the, ah, farmers out there then? We don’t have to wait a whole growing season? Please finish chewing before you answer.”

“Oh, naaah. Barely spoke to those guys.” He wiped crumbs out of his beard. “I just went out there, sat with the poor, injured plants. We danced together in the sunset. Then all I had to do was give their stalks a few gentle strokes and they were standing erect in—”

“ _Stop!_ Stop.”

“Well, you asked.”

“Jeezy creezy.” Taako grabbed a cookie before they all disappeared. “You really gotta think about how you phrase things.”

Taako hurried out to the upper deck as though the visual of Merle fondling stalks of emmer was a living monster that could chase him, and found a spot to lean where he could see most of the action going on in the harbor below. He finished off the cookie while getting to know the faces and patterns of the people working on and around the Starblaster. They were all very efficient. No one dawdled for long or seemed to do aimless work that could be a cover for nefarious activity. The Sickle and Thorn kept drawing his attention. He recalled the figure peering through the window when they’d first arrived. 

A strange noise from behind startled him from his observations, and he turned just in time for a mini lightsail boat to swoop across the deck and back up into the sky. It veered off to the side high in the air, and came back around, this time slowing to hover a few steps away. It was about the size of a large rowboat with a lightsail canopy overhead and those fishlike fins along the side and back. 

Magnus climbed out and gently patted the boat. “Taako! Look what I got!” 

Taako clapped lazily. “Yeah, I see. Your very own dinghy.”

“Ha-ha. It’s a speedsail, they called it. Good for smaller away missions and such.” Magnus walked up to lean against the ship rail with him. “Been learning the ropes all morning.”

“Nice. Hey, did I see you earlier flying over the city by chance?”

“Maybe! I was all over the place.” He coughed and cleared his throat. "But, um, that might've been when I was a passenger. Learning the ropes and shit."

“Right, right. Where are we getting all this shit from anyway?” 

“Uh, I think they said they’re parts from an old ship that had to be dismantled and were just sitting in a warehouse so they’re letting us borrow it.”

Taako laughed a little as he turned his attention back out over the busy harbor. “Like we’d be able to give any of it back at this rate.” 

“Weeell, you know. It’s for a good cause.”

“That’s our go-to spin, yeah.”

Magnus went on to talk about how it only took him a few minutes of training to understand how to fly the speedsail, and all the use he thought they could get out of it. Taako half-listened as he once more became distracted by Lt. Finley’s insinuation that unsavory factions were out there after the Light, and whether or not he should give a shit anymore if Kravitz doesn’t show up.

Scattered around the harbor, Taako counted a total of eleven people who had their hair in dreadlocks within his range of sight, including two in Darunell’s team. None of them were Kravitz. Also, all of the same workers from the guildhall were there as the last time he checked, and two more had joined in. They wore the same leather apron with the cog-and-anvil symbol of the guild hall stamped on the front. He watched them get orders from Darunell and begin their respective tasks, effectively marking them off of Taako’s mental list of suspects.

The only place that eluded his inspection was the tavern. Kravitz could be in there. Whoever was following them could be in there. The fried fish was definitely in there.

“Hey, you okay Taako?” Magnus asked. “I’m used to it seeming like you aren’t listening, but never this unintentionally.”

“Yeah. Never better. Hey, I’m _starving._ Let’s go get some food.” He tilted his head toward the tavern.

“Can I tell you something? I was hoping you’d say that.”

  
  


Inside the Sickle and Thorn was in some ways no different than other taverns across the planarverse. Crowded, loud, and replete with alcohol. Rustic too, but all the lush plants growing up posts and separating booths made it feel more like a cozy fairytale cottage rather than a seaside fish house. 

They were seated at a small table near the bar, and only had to wait a few seconds before a tavernkeep approached to take their order. 

“I’ll take an ale and your heartiest stew,” Magnus said. 

“We currently have a delicious whitefish stew,” the tavernkeep said. “We also have an urus stew in a bowl of fresh bread.”

As they went on about other things on the menu, Taako noticed a very familiar woman at the bar. Rich brown hair was swept over one shoulder in a long braid and she spoke quietly to a man with a bandaged wound on his neck. Tess...Tessa-something. The opera singer. Tessany.

“Taako?” Magnus asked.

“I’d like the, uhhh, yeah,” Taako said distractedly. “I’ll have that too.”

“Two ales and whitefish stews coming up.” 

Taako stood once the tavernkeep had walked away. “Sorry, Mags, I’ll be right back.” 

As he settled into the barstool, Tessany glanced over at him indifferently, and resumed talking to the man with the bandage. “You did your best,” she said to him. “But now we know there’s a Bird in the quartet.”

“Could’ve been a footman just as easily,” he said bitterly and downed a long swig of ale. 

“Or that. Someone who was down there and saw you leave.”

“It can’t have been Charlon. Gods, I hope it ain’t him. I _trusted_ him.” He scrubbed a hand down his face and winced when his fingers brushed against the bandage.

“I hope not too. You know, I saw Kravitz go downstairs and not come back out,” she said, brow furrowing. “Though I have a hard time believing he could pull off something like that alone. He could’ve killed you.”

“Which one is he?”

“Cellist in the quartet. I’ve suspected him for a long time now. He fit the description, right? Tall, strong, wearing all black. Did you get a good look at his face?”

“I dunno,” he whined. “He had some kinda magic on him. And all the footmen wear black, too.” He wobbled before dropping his head into his folded arms. “Well, I'm done for.”

Tessany put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Listen, this is a good thing. We drew out a Bird from his roost. Now we know they’re after the off-worlders for some reason. The boss is sure to find this important, especially with the bunk he said to you about some torture pact.”

Well shit. A sensation like icewater washed through Taako’s skin. He shook it off and steeled himself. This was all good to know. Kravitz was maybe bad egg. Possibly into some shady shit. Might have attacked a dude. Not that Taako was super innocent there; it actually meant they had some things in common. Still, better to know this _now._ Yet some part of him reserved a bit of skepticism over what he heard. Kravitz seemed... Well, Taako had liked him. Taako doesn't just insta-like anybody he meets. Maybe that wasn't enough, though. He'd only known the fella for a few minutes. Ugh. _Fuck_.

The bartender stood off to the side pouring ales. She had been there for a while at the same couple of taps. Taako must have had quite the expression, because one look his way made her startle. She recovered and set a couple of pints on the bartop, but no one was there to receive them.

“Can I get you anything?” she asked.

“N-no… Just checking out your, uh, beer. Good selection you got here. Marshmellon sour ale, emmerwine, lager… good stuff.” As insincere as that was, marshmellon did have a nice ring to it. 

“Um. Right. Let me know if you decide you want anything.”

Taako returned to the table to find that Magnus had already finished his stew. And even though he’d accidentally ordered the thing he had not been craving since yesterday, he had to admit the stew hit the spot all the same. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent trying his hardest to avoid doing too much labor around the Starblaster, until he realized it was a decent distraction from the creeping paranoia that had found its way into his mind. He drifted from task to task--helping Lup and Barry with the Stonesea navigation upgrade, clearing out Davenport’s unused cabin for Ayana, preparing meals for later--but never felt truly at ease until he clipped the safety harness into place and braced for lift-off.

* * *

The Ancestor Collective’s stealth craft was similar to the standard lightsail skiffs used for quick, long distance travel, only they came equipped with stealth magic and mounted arcane weapons. This one was also painted black, its lightsail wings lined with rows of feather-like flaps of what Ayana called scatterlace, meant to deflect the woven threads of the Stonesea’s magical security system, further reinforcing its cloaking abilities. 

On the inside, the cockpit was cozy. Kravitz could prop his feet up on the dash if he were so inclined, and another person could sit with him in a co-pilot chair if necessary. It had no deck like the larger ships, as it was fully enclosed, but it did have a storage area, bathroom, and a small living area with a desk and a wall-mounted cot. All of which was quite diminutive to make room for the greenhouse. Nothing else made Kravitz more nervous than having to tend to plants in order to sustain himself. They had a tendency to, well… die. 

The rush of adrenaline from launching into space gave Kravitz a brief second wind, but it didn’t last long. He locked the craft into stationary orbit and went back to the cot to take a nap. He hadn’t meant to actually fall asleep. Just a little trance would do, but his body had other ideas and the cot was surprisingly comfortable. 

Dreams flowed like spidersilk, barely visible but there just enough to impress faint, sticky sensations over his mind. At some point a beeping sound kept jutting through the ephemeral noise. It was incessant enough that he dreamt about trying to find the source so intensely that it woke him up.

The beeping continued. _Shit_. The Starblaster! He had set a sensor to trigger when the Starblaster broke free of Grandalia’s atmosphere.

He jumped up and slammed his head on the low ceiling of his bed’s alcove. He hissed a few choice swears. Tears filled his eyes and he ground his teeth, hands pressed firmly on his head as though that would stop the pain. He tried again, this time minding the low ceiling. The track lights along the edge glowed mockingly.

Head throbbing, he closed the distance between the cabin and the cockpit—mindful not to trip over the wing sail mechanisms—in a few unsteady strides, dropped into the pilot seat and peered out of the window. 

The Starblaster flew past in the distance, lightsails trailing through the darkness as light from the distant sun gleamed off their surface. The strange, great ring rotated at its back, and if Kravitz tilted his head a little he could see something like thousands of threads pulling through it. Maybe he hit his head too hard. He flicked a few switches to set a course to follow in their wake, and pulled out a book to read. 

After a while, his comm system pinged. Kravitz flipped on the viewscreen to see Ayana’s smiling face.

“Hey,” she said, speaking quietly. “Can’t chat long, but I finally have myself situated. This is an undetectable frequency so use it if you need to send me a message. Left the other one back home in case it was traced.”

“Got it.” Kravitz wrote the frequency in the screen readout on a slip of tacky parchment and stuck it to the bottom of the monitor. “So. What’s it like in there?”

“Roomy. Bigger on the inside than it looks, and I can’t tell yet if it’s just a perspective thing or if it’s magic, but my guess is the latter. The twins really know their shit. Speaking of, I met Taako again.”

Kravitz suddenly found a few new settings on the console to play with. “Oh?”

“Mmhm. You gonna tell me why you wanted me to give him a message in particular?”

“It’s uh, about the Syndicate. I wanted to warn him-- _them_ \--but since I had to go on an all-night diversion to keep them from being kidnapped, I couldn’t really get around to that.”

She gave him a pointed look. “That’s probably best since I’m not even supposed to know you’re following us.”

“I know, I know. Just keep me apprised of things and I’ll let you know if I notice any funny business out here.”

“You’ve my word. Cheers!” 

Her image flicked off and Kravitz was left to the quiet hum of the ship and faint beeps from its various monitoring devices. He resumed reading the book, but could not keep his focus on the page. The Starblaster ahead moved through the obstacle of asteroids with ease. It looked so small, almost swallowed whole by the nebula-clouded expanse around them. Kravitz looked beyond them to the stars, feeling a strong sense of existential wonder, and swore he saw one disappear.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to those of you who leave comments and kudos, you keep me going. <3 
> 
> As always thank you to my betas, Desiree_harding and Thimbleful for helping me be a better writer.
> 
> I apologize for this taking so long, next one should hopefully be quicker! 
> 
> Warning in this chapter for: alcohol mention

Kravitz was not unfamiliar with long-distance space travel. He had used the inter-astroland public transport to cross vast distances a number of times. A couple of Collective missions had taken him as far as Erados in sector prime—the seat of the Empire—nearly on the other side of the Stonesea. He was also not unfamiliar with solitude. But it’d always humble him to look out of the cockpit windows and see so much nothing. Even with all the stars and the distant nebula of their old sun, the vastness between it all was palpable. He was tiny and alone. 

Captain Davenport had picked a course far from the more popular freight and passenger ship paths. Asteroid density in this region was the bigger problem, however. If not for the Starblaster’s navigation upgrades, Kravitz would need to put more spell power toward his ship’s shields. Ahead of him, the stones—some as large as a building, others as small as a coin—gently swayed out of the Starblaster’s way, and moved back into their previous spots behind Kravitz’s ship. He would go untouched as long as he remained within the sphere of the spell’s influence. Autopilot kept to this range with mathematical precision and allowed him some freedom from having to sit at the helm the entire time. That didn’t mean it couldn’t get boring.

And so he looked forward to semi-regular contacts from Ayana. Her updates on the Starblaster crew’s antics were a nice break from the often oppressive introspection he kept lapsing into when left to his own devices. They were also treating her well, which eased his mind. 

For instance, the captain lent her his cabin since he had a cot on the bridge. It was spacious enough for her hoverchair, and had a private bathroom. Best of all, everything in the room was designed for someone of shorter stature, so she could reach things without having to constantly readjust the height of her hoverchair.

He learned more from her about the bracelets and how she helped remove them. How it felt to be around  _ two _ elves.

“Gods, Krav. I reckon just take what you felt and multiply it by two? It’s so strange. I thought based on what you said that it’d be a bad feeling, but it weren’t. Felt right. Sort of like skimming’ past a gyre, but the energy surge is pleasant and you want to feel that way forever.”

Kravitz pictured Taako’s face, surprised and sunlit in the alley, how Kravitz had felt so drawn to him. But that could’ve just been an associative memory. The enticing power radiated  _ around _ him. Didn’t mean he was enticed by Taako himself.

Apparently, the elves weren’t the only ones to have this effect on her, but theirs was indeed the strongest. 

“Once I knew what to feel for, I could feel it from all of them. It was light, you know, like a whisper in comparison, but there.”

Curious, that.

The last time they spoke, a couple of days ago, Ayana had seemed down. She listened to him complain about not getting good reception to the hologram feed. He had taken to watching his father’s favorite teams after his death. Kravitz couldn’t care less about sport, but he remembered how his father would lift him up excitedly when they scored, he could hear his brother cheering along, and that brought him some comfort. All the while, she’d tugged at the Alveskan pendant on her necklace, so he’d stopped and asked her what was wrong. 

“It’s hard sometimes,” she’d said. “They’re so close it’s like I’m not there. Lots of inside jokes and big personalities to get used to. They’re like a family and I’m just an eighth sail. Doesn’t help that sometimes I still feel weirdly drawn towards them in a way that seems like it could never be truly fulfilled. But I like ‘em. Lucretia kept me company almost the whole time I was fixing up that automech they stole. Found  _ all _ sortsa interesting spells woven into this thing.” 

Through Ayana, Kravitz felt himself getting to know them to an extent. They were an intrepid, wacky, heartfelt, and sometimes reticent lot. Now he could add a touch unscrupulous to the list. As endeared to them as he felt himself becoming, he keenly wanted to be among them to learn first hand. Taako, in particular, but perhaps that was because he’d actually spoken to him. 

Inevitably though, despite her check-ins and the ship’s ability to keep track of time, the days began to blur together. Routine mechanical clicks, whirrs, and hums became his crickets during night simulation. The air vents kicking in, the power core cycling over fresh magic, the wing mounts adjusting to gravitation eddies. They were all signs that things were safe and well, but how he missed the bustle and song of home. There, he could go for a walk to get his mind off of grief. He could find his way to a strange book in an old shop or carry on with neighbors by food carts. Here, he just had his mind and the assorted fleet of intrusive thoughts that came with it.

This morning started out like the fourteen before. He woke at half two and ate breakfast while reading over the ship’s overnight scans and checking on news from the Collective. Finding no anomalies, no updates, he headed back to exercise in the meager space between the storage area and the greenhouse. There was no equipment, no free weights, just the treadmill, which generated and stored extra power in the event they ran into a gyre as he ran.

After a shower and dressing in a simple linen shirt and trousers (no waistcoat, no heavy overcoat, no jabot, thank the gods), Kravitz tended to the ship’s tiny garden. He had to shuffle sideways and slightly hunched down the grated path between the two rows of planter boxes as he touched glyphs to activate water spells. Plants grew along the walls and hung from boxes overhead, so that longer leaves brushed his hair as he passed by.

“Good morning,” Kravitz sang with a smile. “Here to check on things, as you know. Don’t mind me, keep on… keep on a’growin’.”

The plants sat there plantlike. Some wavered in the ever-present subtle breeze of recycled air. Well, that’s good. Kravitz dreaded the day that he’d become so weary of solitude that he’d imagine them talking back.

The herbs were doing fine, but the vegetables looked a little wilty. Two sunpepper plants had already curled up and turned brown.  _ Aha _ , the sunlight spell needed to be recharged. Kravitz spoke soothing words to them as he touched the small beacons to imbue them with more energy from his daily reserves. 

Plants like music, or so he heard. If he got desperate enough, he’d use his bardic magic to keep them happy, but for now he settled for the mundane approach. He pulled the cello case from beneath his bed, and dragged a stool into the space by the planters. 

“What wouldya like to hear? I can play, well… a _ vast _ suite of songs. How about this little number.” 

After an exhale, and finding the correct posture, he drew out a sequence of chords that he intended to be one song—a warm, jovial piece from his last concert series, but another took hold. One he hadn’t played in  _ years _ . One he refused to play, because it lived in his mind as his mother’s voice. Her last performance was a tragic romance. This song, one that also evoked warmth in its notes, but the kind of warmth cast by sunlight on grave flowers. 

About halfway through, an alert sounded. It took him a moment to pull out of the song-trance to realize he was being hailed. His spirits lifted instantly. Eager to speak to Ayana again, he hurried to the helm and dropped into the pilot seat. He flipped on the viewscreen, and…  _ shit. _

Taako’s face appeared instead. His elven ears perked up for a second as recognition alighted his face. His mouth slid into a sly grin and his eyes narrowed. “Well, hello there.” He sounded amused, surprised even. “Did not expect to see you. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not disappointed.”

Kravitz’s mouth shut with an audible clack. He didn’t know what it felt like for his heart to stop, but something like this had to be close. “Where’s–”

“Ayana? She’s with Lucretia and Lup. They’re having a girl’s night, so, it’s just gonna be you and me, my man.” 

“How did you–”

“Easy peasy. I noticed a pattern, followed my gut, and one well-executed invisibility spell later, cha’boy’s got a key to a very special door.”

“Okay....I–” Kravitz gave a breathy chuckle. “Well, you got me there. Is there something I can help you with?”

Taako propped his elbows on the desk, threaded his fingers together, and rested his chin upon them. He was in a different room from wherever Ayana contacted him. Lights were strung around a porthole and across the wall. They cast faint dappled lights on a messy bed. Shelves partially in view were stuffed haphazardly with books and other items. It looked cozy. Lived-in. Was this Taako’s cabin? If so, he must have gotten the frequency from her somehow. 

“First, tell me why the fuck Ayana’s sneaking off to talk to you. Then—well, let’s start there.”

“Well, then. There’s no need for the interrogation. She’s family. I want to make sure her journey’s going well. You lot are taking her quite aways from home.” There, that sounded reasonable, and it wasn’t a lie exactly.   


Taako’s expression turned thoughtful. “Oh, for sure, for sure.” Then he pointed a finger gun at Kravitz. “But you look like you’re in a cockpit. Still following me, handsome?”

Kravitz nearly growled. Taako’s smug demeanor was starting to annoy him. “I’m  _ not _ following  _ you. _ ”

“You are behind us, though, hmm? This is a close-range frequency, my dude, where else would you be? Listen, Ayana’s your family, I get that. My only family in a million universes is on board this fuckin’ ship too, so I can ease the truth out of you with a little flirtation, or you can fuckin’ spill it right now.” The coy, attractive smile he’d held since appearing on the screen slipped into something more vaguely threatening.

Kravitz sighed into his hand warily, fingertips rubbing along his brow. He couldn’t say that he wouldn’t feel the same if the shoe was on the other foot. “Fine, fine. I have good reason to believe you’re all in danger. There’s a group that calls themselves the Graystone Syndicate that I intercepted at the party the night you were there. There was a plot to kidnap one of you and torture you for information. Did your imperial ambassador fill you in on them, by chance?”

Taako looked thoughtful, head tilted down. He dropped eye contact and seemed to turn inward. A few strands of hair fell over his face and cast a deep shadow. “No, didn’t mention it, not by name.” His voice was softer, less self-assured. 

“I see…Well, they should have.” It was far more likely that their ambassador would warn them about the Collective, given that they were more of a proverbial thorn in their side. Not to mention, it wasn’t beneath them to work with certain branches of the Syndicate on occasion. “Did they mention anyone else, by chance?” 

“He mentioned unsavory groups. That we’d have competition.”

“Competition? For what?”

Something darted through space from the port side in his periphery. It passed his ship, distracting him from Taako’s answer about a prize for finding--what? He didn’t hear. Not important now. He lost sight of the object as its diminutive size was swallowed by darkness. The radar showed it zipping toward the Starblaster’s stern. It slowed as it approached, and cut toward the starboard side. Kravitz locked onto it and ran an analysis.

ANALYSING UNKNOWN CRAFT. . .

He rested his fingertips on the control panel crystals that would syphon magic from the ship’s power core to fire on the objects, if needed. The core powered-up, reverberated through the ship. Kravitz’s thumb hovered over the trigger button. This would drop the shields and his ship would become uncloaked for the duration of the weapon fire. It was risky, and could put his whole mission in jeopardy. But if it was Syndicate tech, he wasn’t going to let it get anywhere near the Starblaster. Without them there would be very little likelihood he could even get to the Light. If he didn’t, then the empire would, and that would undoubtedly be the end for the Collective.

“Hey, what’s that sound?” Taako’s voice seemed far away. “You look spooked, something wrong?” 

ANALYSIS COMPLETE. . . GRAYSTONE MODEL M872 SURVEILLANCE DRONE

Kravitz’s jaw clenched. “I need to close the frequency. Please don’t tell anyone you spoke to me.  _ Please _ . We can finish this conversation later.”

“Not this shit again.” Taako’s brow lowered and his jaw tensed. “Tell me what the fuck’s happening!”

There wasn’t time for this. Kravitz should just leave them to deal with the fucking thing on their own. They could probably handle it. If what they say is true, they’ve made it this far on their own, so why should he take such a risk? _Because Ayana was there_ , he reminded himself. 

The drone indicator on the viewscreen maneuvered ever closer to the Starblaster. It slipped past a lightsail and he lost the lock on it.

“Fuck!” He pulled his fingers away from the crystals. When he looked back at the screen, Taako was watching him pensively. He remembered what Taako said about his only family being on the Starblaster. 

“All right,  _ fine _ ,” Kravitz said, tense but not unkind. “I’m not far behind you. I’m about to take out a Syndicate drone that just showed up to the party. I can handle this; it’ll be like nothing’s happening as long as it doesn’t attach itself to your hull. Go about your evening, it’ll be all right. If you must, only alert Ayana, but no one else.  _ Please.  _ When this is over I will explain why. Until then, cheers.” 

He cut Taako’s frequency and immediately sought out the drone once more. It moved like a fly, darting to and fro as if dodging something. It had to have sensed him somehow. “Come on, let me get a bloody lock on you...There!” 

But another alert cut into his focus. Two more indicators appeared on the radar, closing in on his position. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Taako sat in darkness after Kravitz cut communications. Well, shit. His first instinct was to tell the captain. He  _ should _ tell the captain if they were being harassed by drones and covert communications were going on under his nose. That way Davenport could deal with it and Taako could go about his evening, as Kravitz suggested.

But Kravitz’s pleading tone and worried eyes stuck in his mind. Why was this guy going through so much trouble for them? Ayana’s clandestine chats with him had troubled Taako before, but now he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Taako liked her. He didn’t want to think they were up to something nefarious. Hell, he liked Kravitz too, and not just because the collar of his shirt was open and partially unlaced like he was keepin’ it casual back there. It was a good look, with his dreads loose around his shoulders and his stubble grown out a little more. Taako scrubbed his face with the palms of his hands. Now wasn’t the time to be gay in space.  _ Fucking hell.  _

He attempted to connect to the helm. He didn’t want to just  _ not  _ tell Capt’n Port. Maybe a little ambiguous shit-stirring will influence him to accidentally notice something he otherwise wouldn’t. 

Davenport’s ginger eyebrows shot up when he registered who had contacted him. “Well, this is new. Can I help you, Taako?”

“Just checkin’ in on ya. Must get lonely up there.”

Davenport’s eyebrows lowered as dramatically as they had risen. “Are you really asking, or did you need me for something?”

“Nope, no ulterior motive here. Can’t the ship’s lead arcanist check in on his captain every now and then?”

Davenport tutted, obviously not believing a word. He focused away from the screen and toward the bow of the ship. “Out with it, Taako. But briefly to answer your question, I’m keeping an eye on Magnus. He’s out there practicing maneuvers on the lightsail skiff, and...well.”

Taako kept his tone light, though his voice might’ve risen a bit. “Oh? He’s out there, huh?”

“Well, he’s hovering on the deck. One second,” he looked ahead, addressing Magnus, “Watch your keel, Magnus! There you go.”

“That is good,” Taako said. “Good for him. Anything else out there?” 

Davenport instinctively checked the instruments around him, then looked sidelong toward the viewscreen. “Nothing but asteroids for miles.”

“As it should be. Hey, can you tell Magnus to come inside for a tick?”

“Er, sure. W—”

Taako closed the line, probably more abruptly than necessary, and blew a few stray hairs from his face. There. Hopefully Magnus will listen and Davenport would be more incidentally aware of ‘ _ something else out there _ ’ in case anything dramatic should happen, because if that wasn’t a bizarre line of questioning he’s not sure what else would do the trick. 

He left his room and headed for the lab to try and get his mind off of the knowledge that Kravitz was out there somewhere eliminating threats in secret. Very kind of him to do so. But why? Was he Ayana’s bodyguard or some shit? Was Ayana some secret princess?  _ Nah. _ Fuck, he wished he had Lup around to theorize with, but she’d been spending so much time with Barry that he found himself talking in his own head more often these days. The trip to Grandalia with her had been such a nice reprieve.

_ Oh, right _ . Ayana was Kravitz’s family. Taako knew the lengths he’d go through for Lup. Was it as simple as that?

The door to the lab was open, so he sauntered in. Normally he’d find Lup and Barry there wrapped up in some project and, moreso, each other. But only Barry was there this time, sitting at his desk with the Light-locating array and that astrolabe contraption he acquired from the Hall of Guilds. There was a holographic projection of space hovering in the air to his side. Soft rock music played at a low volume—music they picked up in an earlier cycle rigged to play through their Twosun sound system.

“Hey, Barry,” he said, a little flat. 

The librarian robot hovered over to intercept him. Small lights along its front panel blinked in a wavelike succession. “Greetings. This is the Starblaster’s arcane science laboratory. Please proceed with caution.”

The robot inched closer. Taako dipped backward. “Yeah, no shit. I fuckin’ work here too.”

“Don’t be a dick. She’s still learning,” Barry said, not looking up from the scattered mess around him. “He’s cool, Rose.”

The robot hovered off to a nearby desk and resumed tidying up a mess of books and papers.

Taako watched it idly and leaned against the lab door threshold. “So, how’s it going, Barry?” he drawled.

“Fine, I guess. We’ve approximated the Light to be within a 242,000 kilometer radius of an Astroland they call Tethelus. Still millions of kilometers away.”

“Astroland?”

“It’s what they call habitable asteroids. This one’s about as big as Neverwinter.” Barry reached over to the astrolabe-thing, and the holographic projection of the Stonesea rotated gradually until he found the Astroland in question. “That’s Tethelus.” He rotated it again until he reached a green glowing marker. “That’s us.”

“Cool, cool.” Taako’s gaze darted from one to the other, the distance measurement finally sinking in. “Holy shit, we’re gonna be in space the entire fucking year aren’t we.”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

Taako groaned. He wandered over to his workstation where the disorganized spell components, testing equipment, books, and a couple of ongoing experiments took up most of the surface area. In the beginning, the science lab and the arcane lab were two separate and distinct areas of the room, but over time one bled inevitably into the other. Many of the tools used were the same, or similar, and often the methods of one did well to support the other. It no longer amused him to find a high tech centrifuge on the same table as a book about magical sigils. His desk was a testament to this.

The research he and Lup conducted on the Stonesea’s magic field could use some attention, but he couldn’t focus. He kept picturing Kravitz’s warm, brown eyes as they shifted from soft with concern to alert and serious. And his warnings about this Syndicate worried him. So Kravitz had for sure been the one Tessany and that other dude were talking about in the tavern. Did he suspect that Tessany, someone he seemed to get along with at the party, who he likely worked with regularly at the opera house, was part of this Syndicate? Was he  _ really _ all right out there? 

“Okay over there, bud?” Barry asked. “You’ve sighed heavily about ten times since you sat down.”

“I’m tired. Boring in here without Lup.”

“Yeah. I like that she’s having a girl’s night though.” 

“Mmm.”

They fell into companionable silence for a time, but Taako still couldn’t concentrate. He kept listening out, ears perked for the slightest noise of something hitting the ship, or turbulence, that might point to a space-themed dogfight. As if any second now Davenport would alert them to take cover. The arcane symbols on the experiment readouts all jumbled together. He read the same line over and over without registering a single datapoint. The more time that stretched on, the more anxious he became.

He needed to speak with Ayana. 

He stood and wordlessly left the lab to head for the common area, where Lup, Lucretia, and Ayana sat around the table with fantasy margaritas. They were in the middle of telling Ayana stories about past cycles, punctuated with laughter and riddled with slurred words, so he didn’t feel too guilty for interrupting. Millions of kilometers to go, plenty of time to pick back up on that later.

“Hullo,” he said, waving his fingers. “Oh that’s a good one. Merle spent the whole time high as a fuckin’ kite. Ayana, may I have a word?”

“Certainly.” She took a small sip of her margarita. “Everything all right, mate?”

Oh good, she seemed to be the most sober of the three of them. “Yeah, just wanna get your take on something in the observatory. I think I found a, uhhh,” he snorted, “an asteroid made of cheese.”

Ayana looked at him like he’d grown another eye. “What?”

“Shit you not. It’s like, you know,  _ cheese. _ Come look.”

“You’re off your skiff, no way it’s cheese. But now you got me curious.” 

“Hell yeah.”

Lup gave Taako the biggest side eye he’s ever received, probably exaggerated by her intoxication, but said nothing. He’d be sure to prepare for future questioning, but for now she let it slide without making a fuss. 

He led Ayana to the ship’s observatory. It was a decent-sized room, with a big circular window and space enough for a handful of people aside from the large telescope at its center. There was a sign hanging from it that read:  _ DO NOT MOVE OR I WILL POISON YOUR COFFEE - Barry _ . Taako chuckled and grabbed a chair from the lone desk in the room. He sat, crossed his legs, and gestured for her to join him.

Ayana brought her hoverchair to position it across from him. She looked up and around the room. A smirk emerged as she spotted Barry’s sign, then she nervously settled her gaze on Taako, hands clasped in her lap.

“You probably wonder why I brought you here,” he said. “It’s not about cheeseroids.”

“Bollocks. I was looking forward to that.”

“I know, I know. Listen, I just wanted to talk about… well, I’ll just cut the horseshit. Tell me about the Graystone Syndicate.”

Ayana shifted uneasily in her chair. She looked over at the telescope and at the lamp on the desk, and other specific places.

“No one’s listening. Promise.” 

She swallowed and tucked her curls behind her slightly pointed ear. “Well. They’re a secret criminal organization that operates throughout the Stonesea. You’ll definitely want to steer clear of ‘em.”

“I find it interesting that it wasn’t ever mentioned to us, do you?”

That made her laugh derisively. “I don’t think it’s that surprising that the empire neglected to tell you, no.”

“Mmm. Who is Kravitz?”

She blinked, then looked everywhere but at him. “Who now?”

“Kravitz. You know him, right? Tall, dreadlocks, real handsome. Following us right now.”

She shrunk back in her chair, a pained expression taking over, and didn’t answer.

He contemplated her for a moment. Might as well be honest about this, since Kravitz would tell her anyway. “I’ve run into him a few times now. Also figured out you’ve been in contact with him. But not to worry, I’m on your side.” Taako felt his words settle into a kind of unspoken contract as he said them. He hated that feeling. He hoped this wouldn’t be a mistake. “I won’t tell anyone for now. He owes me a reason though.”

“All right then, what of it?”

“Weeell, he says there’s a Syndicate drone closing in on the Starblaster. Says he can handle it himself, but I figured you might know something about it?  _ Is _ he okay out there? What do you know about these drones?”

Her demeanor shifted from worried and defensive, to determined as she sat forward. “Yeah, he’s probably okay out there, but if the Syndicate is sending drones after us, that ain’t a good thing. Typically there’s a scout drone at first that will attach to a ship and infiltrate your systems. It’ll send intel back to the Syndicate ship that launched it. Sometimes they’re accompanied by guard drones. You said he only saw one?”

“Yep.”

“Well then,” she exhaled and her shoulders relaxed. “No doubt he’ll give me a shout when he’s finished with it.”

The Starblaster suddenly trembled for a few seconds. Something broke against the stern, followed by the sound of bits skittering across its surface. The track lights in the room shifted to a gold color, and Davenport’s voice crackled over the comm system.

“Everyone, this is your captain speaking. Find a safe location and stay on guard. Performing evasive maneuvers while I figure out what’s going on.”

Taako swore under his breath and surveyed the surroundings. The telescope was secured to a mount with a cabinet that would be a good place to take cover. He jumped to his feet and crossed the distance in a couple of long strides.

“Here’s a good place,” he said. “Do you need help getting in?”

“I—” Her hands gripped the arms of her hoverchair, knuckles standing out through her brown skin. “I need to check on him!” 

“He’ll want you safe! Get under here!”

The Starblaster trembled again, more violently, but it passed quicker. The repetitive, shrill sound of several smaller objects hitting the ship’s magical shield made Taako’s ears tilt back against his head. He waved her under the telescope urgently. “ _ Please! _ ”

She looked at him, and then at the telescope mount, assessing. It was strong as fuck, sturdy enough to hold up a very large, very heavy instrument filled with delicate components. Nothing would crush them under there. He wanted to scream, his patience wearing thin the longer she hesitated.

“No! What if he’s having trouble out there? I have to do  _ something _ .” She turned her chair toward the door. “If you argue with me I’ll run you the fuck over.”

Taako held up his hands defensively. More turbulence rattled the room, this time enough to knock the telescope askew with a long squeak. The shields warbled again—that was enemy fire, for sure. Self-preservation warred with his conscience, a battle his conscience often fought but seldom won. 

Ayana opened the door and quickly hovered out into the hall after giving him a deeply disapproving look. He should just let her go.  _ She _ was being the rash one here. What the fuck are they going to do? But that look she’d given him turned his blood cold. She might be making a mistake, but he was being a shitty asshole coward.

“ _ Fuck _ .” 

Taako dashed for the hallway toward the common area after her, where Lup and Lucretia had found cover under the table.

Magnus stood by the stairs, a little bewildered. When he saw Taako, he grabbed his shoulders. “We’re being attacked!”

“No shit!” Taako shook free, and tried to calm his breaths. He leaned against the wall.

Ayana brushed past them without a word, guiding her chair up the stairs to the hatch.

“Hey!” Magnus called to Ayana. “It’s—”

“Don’t,” said Taako. “Just go with her, make sure she’s safe. I’ll uh… stay here and watch them; they’re drunk,” he gestured to Lup and Lucretia who had their pitcher of margarita cradled between them. 

“Is big boy here good with long-range attacks?” Ayana asked, hand on the hatch handle.

Magnus rubbed the back of his head. “I mean…No. He’s the one with the magic hands. Dammit.”

Barry then hurried into the room, calling for Lup. Once he spotted her, he dove under the table as well, and the margarita spilled everywhere.

Taako ground his teeth. The fight-or-flight response was inevitable, though as he desperately clung to option three—freeze—it was looking less and less likely that he could.

Ayana glared at Taako. “Get your arse up here then!” She pushed open the hatch and guided her chair out to the main deck.

Taako lurched up the stairs, clinging to the rail with another spate of turbulence, and found his way out. He pushed the hatch closed, buying himself a few moments to steel his nerves. Fear made him feel heavy as he fought every instinct that told him to stay down below.

Above deck, all was quiet. He could barely make out the looming dark shapes of asteroids as they swayed out of the Starblaster’s path.

“I don’t see anyth— _ oh!”  _

Illuminated by the Starblaster’s deck lights, a dark gray orb with green glowing designs and a jagged lightsail fin on its back whipped past. It swung around, and headed back toward what he presumed was Kravitz’s ship behind them. 

Ayana pulled up next to him. “That’s a guard drone! Can you create a diversion? They’ll go after anything that seems threatening. They get confused with too many targets!”

Taako nodded, and headed for the stern. Three glowing darts formed in his palms. Warm magic crackled in the air around them as he mentally selected their targets. The guard drone, a nearby asteroid, and… he couldn’t see much else.  _ Two darts to the drone it is. _ He flung them outward, and each of them slipped through the Starblaster arcane shields and found their targets easily. A shower of magical sparks sprayed outward from each impact, and illuminated a dark distorted shape not far behind the Starblaster.

The drone spun out of control, then smoothly righted itself. The green designs glowed brighter, and it turned a central eye directly at Taako.

And it exploded. 

Bits of shrapnel scattered across the Starblaster’s shield, creating trails of golden sparks. In the background, that dark shape became visible for a brief moment, its birdlike lightsail wings spread wide. As quickly as it had appeared, however, it was gone. 

Taako braced for more. Nothing else happened, and all went quiet. Ayana soon joined him at the stern of the ship.

“Good shot, Taako,” said Davenport over the comm system. “All is clear. Everyone meet me up here in ten.”

Taako glanced back toward the bridge cabin. He gave a thumbs’ up and a big put-on grin.

Ayana kept her gaze settled on the vast, star-speckled darkness behind the ship. “That won’t be the last we have to deal with ‘em. Their ship’s out there somewhere.”

“Go check in with Kravitz, maybe he has some readout that’ll tell you their trajectory. Davenport’s gonna want to talk about what the fuck just happened. I’ll come up with something, don’t worry.” He looked towards the expanse of space as well and felt something warm unfolding in his chest. “Tell Kravitz I said thanks.”

Ayana smiled, gaze wistful. “Or you could.”

“You’re the one who’s about to talk to him.”

“But you know how to contact him now, right?” She was smiling up at him now. “He might like to hear it from you.”

Taako’s cheeks felt hot all of a sudden. He huffed and turned away to head for the bridge cabin door.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you to my wonderful betas @thimbleful and @desiree_harding
> 
> As a big head's up, I have changed the 'Ancestor Archive' to the 'Ancestor Collective.' I kept thinking about the Magnus Archives, and other things, which was bugging me, so I changed it. Hopefully that will only cause brief confusion!
> 
> Thank you for reading and please drop a comment if you enjoyed it! I am struggling with motivation and could use some. <3 Next chapter is ALLL Taakitz.

The wreckage of the attack was now far behind them, but Kravitz’s heart raced until Ayana appeared on his viewscreen, safe and unharmed. She relayed what had happened from her perspective. Peppered in little details about Taako that he suspected were for his benefit, but he was not in the mood to entertain the delicate affections they stirred.

“Good luck,” Ayana said with an encouraging smile. “I’ll report back soon.”

Kravitz gave a casual salute, and Ayana’s signal feed dropped a second later. He sat for a moment, rubbing his forehead, then left the helm to contact the Collective about what happened.

Ayana was right. They needed to know—but he didn’t want to tell them _everything_. He didn’t want to tell them that Taako discovered the short-range frequency he had been using with Ayana, because he didn’t want to tell them about the frequency in the first place. He didn’t want to tell them that Taako saw his imperial-undocumented, stealth-capable lightsail craft. But he had to tell them about the drones. Ayana would be making her own report about the incident, and there were too many key moments involved to get away with hiding anything. Lies by omission always piled up over time, and he didn’t want to have the Collective lose trust in him, so...

_You don’t have to tell them everything._

Kravitz frowned at that thought. He would tell them everything. Ayana would too. It was for the best.

He went to stand before a small, crystal-lined recess above a utility cabinet—the ship’s sigil alcove. He stood before it and spoke the incantation to activate the crystals that would project a hologram to his elder. They glowed faintly, and the tattoo between his shoulder blades radiated with warmth. Finally, the small sigil on the mirrored panel lit up to indicate it was ready to transmit. He rolled back his shoulders, breathed evenly through his nose. Then his stomach took a dive.

“Transmission on standby,” said the programmed voice when he did not give the initiating gesture.

This anxiety was difficult to bear, but he’d had to disappoint them before. Though, that had been a rather difficult time...which is why he went through great lengths to not do it again. May the extenuating circumstances temper their disappointment. He breathed evenly, in and out, and gestured to resume the transmission.

“Elder Neorah of Aleveska, this is Kravitz with an important mission update. I will stand by for your response. Thank you.”

This was going to be fine. Surely he hadn’t been _that_ careless, had he? They’d understand. They were never cruel, and this was a weird mission. People from another world, a mysterious object that enthralled him from a great distance. An elven man who was doing much the same with barely any meaningful words shared between them. Well, they needn’t know about that. Mere fascination wasn’t supernatural or nefarious. _Gods, get yourself together._ He refocused on the ultimate goal. He had to get the Light. _But for whom?_

The sigil flashed and his attention was immediately captured as if by the snap of fingers before he could dwell further his last thoughts. His elder’s image appeared before him. Her long braids were wrapped atop her head, and her clothing looked casual. He winced at the possibility he had disturbed her rest.

“Hail, Kravitz, Elder Neorah here. You may initiate the two-way feed.”

Kravitz drew in a deep breath, and returned his hand on the crystal. His tattoo warmed up again. “Hail, Elder Neorah. Thank you for your swift response.”

“Just Neorah now, dear,” she said, waving it off and laughing to herself. “I’m not working today. Please share your update. I was playing cards with the others.” She leaned in with a little knowing smile. “I’m winning.”

He smiled reflectively, despite the worry gnawing at him. “I’ll make it quick. I intercepted Syndicate drones that were after the offworlder’s ship. A scouting drone and two guard drones. All three were destroyed.”

“I see. They’ve been rather bold lately. Thank you for making quick work of it, then. Were you detected by the Star… blaster is it?”

Kravitz couldn’t prevent a minute flinch at the question. He hoped she didn’t notice, given these holograms weren’t the best at portraying subtle facial tics. “After I destroyed the scout drone, its guards began to attack. The Starblaster was hit a few times, as was I, but I got rid of them as swiftly as I could.”

Neorah’s head tilted, but if she conveyed any other emotion it was lost in the holographic translucence. “That is not what I asked.”

He clenched his jaw. “I was detected, yes.”

“Do you know whether the Starblaster perceived you as an ally and not as the attacker?”

_She doesn’t have to know everything._

“I, ah... apologize for not disclosing this to you beforehand, but Ayana mentioned her intentions to travel with them before we left. I wanted her to know that I’d be in range if she needed help given that she’d be alone with them out here. We established an undetectable close-range frequency. Everything went so quickly between their crash and the launch, I’m afraid it led to some rash decisions. But in our defense, I feel this was completely necessary.”

“Kravitz, this is a mark against you regardless of how necessary you feel it is to keep watch on each other. We arrange things like this for specific, strategic reasons. You out of all of the Hunters should know this. And _obviously_ things went quickly because the Empire hopes they will lead them straight to the Light.” She shook her head, making her disappointment in him obvious. “Ayana is an invaluable member of our collective. Why do you think we would be so careless? She keeps in regular contact with her father as well, and those communications are monitored, _which she knows_.”

Kravitz didn’t flinch at her scolding tone. He knew he deserved it. He bowed his head in deference. “I apologize, Elder Neorah. I acted rashly and could have compromised the entire mission.”

She tutted. “Yes, well. In a way you have simply skipped a few steps. I won’t elaborate.” She waved a hand. “But, this transgression _will_ appear in your mission review. You’re not off the hook.”

“I understand.”

“Very well. So, she informed you that they saw you defending them, I presume?”

“Yes.”

“And what did they say?”

“Only one actually saw my ship, and he is willing to keep quiet so long as I explain myself to him. The others, as far as I’m aware, remain ignorant.”

There was a heavy sigh, but the movement of her hologram was minimal. “What do you plan on saying to this one who knows?”

“I… don’t know. But you’ve my word that I won’t mention the Ancestor Collective by name, nor identify anyone else as part of it. Including Ayana.”

“Do you have anything else to report?”

The urge to ask about his mother made its way up his throat, as it always did when he had a chance to speak with his elder alone, but he swallowed it down. Instead, he canted his head in respect. “No, that is all. Thank you for your time.”

“May Kelemvor grant you peace in your travels.”

Elder Neorah’s image flickered away like a blown out candle before he could regret holding back. Kravitz sighed, long and slow.

A fortnight passed. Ayana checked in once, and elder Neorah had reached out to confirm that they’d located the Syndicate ship responsible for sending the drones. It had not pursued them further, but that was little consolation. This either meant that it got the information it was sent to gather, or it diverted the objective to another ship upon knowing it’d been discovered. Kravitz doubted they were done hearing from them. He requested permission to contact potential Birds who worked undercover in the Syndicate, but was declined. _We have it covered._

Of course, of course.

So, Kravitz kept to his daily routines, shuffling about the cramped ship, always on alert for another attack. In the quiet in-between moments, and sometimes abruptly, mid-task, his thoughts would turn to Taako. What incredible magic he possessed that enabled him to take out a drone with spellfire with his own hands. Only the imperial wizards possessed such power, and even then they were limited. He wished that he could have seen it up close.

As far as Kravitz knew, Taako had kept his word. He had not betrayed that Kravitz was following them to anyone among his crew, or especially not to his imperial ambassador. Ayana mentioned that she had spoken to him often about it, and she felt she could trust him. Kravitz wanted to be there with them. To see him every day, to befriend him and get to know him better as she has done. The loneliness was clearly just getting under his skin.

“He also asked if you’re good out there on your own,” Ayana said, sounding far away. “Krav? You with me?”

Kravitz blinked. “Oh—yes. I… I’m mostly bored. His unexpected appearance on my screen was the most exciting thing to happen in some time.” When Ayana’s eyebrows lifted, he quickly added, “You know, because it had me gobsmacked. They’re not supposed to know I’m here! Please… just tell him I’m good.”

“More exciting than destroying Syndicate mech trash?”

“It was certainly more, ahh... pleasant?”

_“Pleasant?”_

Kravitz rubbed his brow. “ _Stop._ I don’t know what you’re implying. As I said, I’m bored out here. There’s only so much holographic solitaire I can play. Doesn’t take much to excite me.”

“Oh, Kravitz, you keep digging yourself deeper.”

“You’re a terrible sister.”

She laughed. “I’m not your sister.”

“Ah, I see. You’re only my sister when you need something from me.”

“Goes both ways, Krav.” She ran her fingers through her hair, which bounced right back into place.

“If it makes a difference, my squash plants are growing flowers, but they won’t pollinate because they’re all male flowers. Finally had a female flower open yesterday, so that was also exciting.”

He supposed he did protest too much, and it made his interest all the more obvious. Yes, the hours were long and tedious. But for as strange and sometimes frustrating his interactions with Taako had been, he liked having them. He wanted to know more about him. He wanted to know more about their strange mission, about all of them, but he wanted to hear it all from Taako.

Ayana snorted. “I’ll be sure to tell Taako he’s equally as exciting as plant sex.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“Merle, now… he’ll love to hear that your plants are finally gettin’ nasty.”

“Oh god. _I_ have to do it. Did you know? I have to help them pollinate since I don’t have bees.” He laughed, and Ayana joined him.

“You gotta fluff ‘em?” Tears sparkled in her eyes from laughter. “You’re a bloody plant fluffer!”

“This is the worst conversation I’ve ever had!”

It would of course come to pass that the very next time Ayana appeared on his viewscreen, Taako did too. They sat side-by-side, and Kravitz smiled fondly, looking between both of them.

“Good news, handsome,” Taako said. “We’re making a pit stop and you’re gonna join us.”

“Oh, am I?”

“We’re about to hit the Wilderness, as you know,” Ayana said. “It’s gonna be rough sailing for a while, so it’s best to stock up and have a bit of respite beforehand.”

Kravitz checked his star map with a nod. Balefire Isle, an astroland roughly the size of a city that had been tunneled through and outfitted with shops, restaurants, inns, and entertainment. Established foremost as a massive beacon to alert travelers that they were about to enter the Wilderness, and over time became something of a resort destination.

“So how are we doing this?” Kravitz asked either of them. “I can’t be seen with you.”

“Yeah, about that,” Taako said. “I was thinking that since I’m not going any-fucking-where near the inside of an asteroid, you’d like to join me on the Starblaster while everyone else goes out shopping? You’ve got some shady business to clear up. If you say no, I’m done, capiche?”

Kravitz smiled at his candor. “Yes, you’ve my word. Though finding my way safely to your ship might be impossible. If there is any possibility that you could meet me somewhere in the astroland away from the primary docking platform, things might work out more quickly.”

Taako appeared to bristle and looked put-out, but he waved a hand and rolled his eyes in the end. “Fine, fine. I’ll be where the best food is, and I’ll wear a dumb hat. You won’t miss me.”

Ayana had an amused expression as she watched them converse. She swiftly composed herself and nodded. “Right, then. We’ll leave the frequencies clear from here on out.”

“So we’re really doing this, huh?” said Kravitz. “Going into the Wilderness.”

Ayana shrugged a shoulder. “What choice do we have? They picked this route. I warned them.”

“Anyone gonna fill ol’ Taako in on why you both sound like we’re about to go on a suicide mish?”

“It’s an incredibly dangerous place,” Kravitz said. “More than anywhere else here. There’s large swaths of uncharted regions. Gyres. Unstable crumbly asteroids. Long ago it used to be inhabited, but there was… a massive solar flare I think, and it destroyed everything. There’s the outer and inner Wilderness, so hopefully if your captain has been well informed we’ll stick to the outer.”

“Yeah, we could lose communications,” Ayana added. “That’s the big thing that happens there, other than the--” she smacked her fist into her open palm and made a few explosion sounds with her mouth. “Scrambles up all the frequencies, makes navigation equipment go a bit barmy.”

Taako’s eyebrows had lifted a little, but otherwise he looked unaffected by this. “Oh, good, real good!” His voice rose an octave and cracked once. “I, uh, I understand why I wasn’t really told about this. Good. Fuck.”

Ayana put a reassuring hand on Taako’s shoulder.

“If it helps, Taako,” Kravitz said. “I’ve been through it before a couple of times. It gets rough, but it’s not impossible. You appear to have an excellent captain at your helm to boot.” Since he could not reassure him with a touch, he hoped his words would suffice

Taako seemed to meet his gaze through the screen, then looked away and said nothing more.

“Catch up with you in a fortnight, Krav,” Ayana said. “That’s about six Starblaster days.”

A fortnight, blimey. So much nothing could happen in a fortnight. The image of Taako and Ayana sitting side by side disappeared from his viewscreen, and Kravitz remained still at the helm for a long while, pulled within by his thoughts.

* * *

Lup climbed up to the crow’s nest atop the central mast to be the first to see the so-called asteroid pit-stop. She’d brought snacks and a blanket, and a book on cellular arcanics for the boring bits of waiting. When she hoisted her things in, they fell on someone who let out a yelp and a few swears.

“Oh, sorry Taako. Thought it was empty.”

“Nope, been here—” he yawned, “—a while.” He sat up on the circular bench where he’d apparently been napping, and made room for her. “Barry coming?”

“Nah, he’s working with Ayana making sure our bracelets will still disguise us without snacking on our life force. Yum.”

“Yum,” Taako echoed halfheartedly, eyes drifting closed. He Leaned forward to rest his arms on the edge of the crow’s nest.

 _Fantasy Jesus_ he could sleep anywhere. Lup could too, for that matter, but it seemed Taako wasn’t getting as much rest. “We don’t want anyone getting all enthralled over us.” She grinned, expecting him to keep bantering with her, but he kept silent.

That silence stretched on, and after a time, Lup began to feel oddly alone. The crow’s nest was usually comfortable when the environmental shields were up and they didn’t have to worry about wind or rain or bugs. But there was nothing to obstruct her view, and so it was like drifting in a big black snow globe with clouds of glitter suspended all around her. Pretty, if not humbling to her very core. Existential dread wound its tendrils through her mind and squeezed her heart. The closer stars looked like eyes, watching them. The patches of darkness in one region could be a massive storm. She rubbed her eyes, and it was gone. Dread stuck around, however. How nice of it to. She was tempted to awaken Taako just to feel like she wasn’t losing her senses. She picked up _Cellular Arcanics_ and began to read.

> At the intracellular level, which is itself a new horizon of science, arcanic receptors and alchemical transference have been observed. This explains how the body processes a number of magical effects, but to uncover the various mechanisms of action involved in each spell effect, more research is needed. If there could be a way to block these receptors for specific spells without need of abjuration magic, permanent immunity could occur. First, we must understand why the body has receptors for observably harmful arcanic effects. Perhaps they serve an alternate purpose, and the ordinary alchemical transference has been commandeered by the invasive magics.

Shit, this was dense. Lup’s eyes were growing heavy when she noticed a flash of light in the distance. Balefire’s lighthouse--had to be--it’s long, rotating beams like a slow blink from this far away. They were still a couple hours out, she reckoned, and so she went back to her reading. When the page couldn’t hold her attention, she checked on their progress or dove into the snacks. After a while, a myriad of small asteroids became illuminated around the Starblaster with each pulse of light, a sign they were close. She tossed the book aside and gazed at the incoming spectacle with wide-eyed wonder.

Balefire floated there in the distance, discernible mostly by the patch of stars it blocked from view like a blot of black ink. Lup shivered with thrill and delight. If only they had more time to stop and study the powerful magic that must be intrinsic to its functioning, to its very _survival_ out here. Notes! She would take so many of them, and what notes she can’t jot down for sure Lucretia would have covered.

Its shape gradually grew larger and larger. The butterflies in Lup’s stomach fluttered with every detail that came into view. The rocky surface, the beacon for which it was named, the lightsail ships hovering around it like satellites. Little glowing windows speckled its surface, making it look like a spaceship carved from a mountain. Clusters of habitat domes formed smooth, glowing bumps over its surface, beads of amber embedded in stone. She wondered if that meant it was in the middle of a day cycle on the inside.

“Oh beans,” she said, “we haven’t been keeping up with their eleven hour day have we?”

Taako stirred at the sound of her voice, but didn’t respond right away. He wasn’t even looking. He was facing the opposite direction, staring out toward the stern at the darkness that followed in their wake. She nudged him with a toe.

“Taako?”

“I think Ayana does,” he said with a sigh.

Lup furrowed her brow. He’d been acting strange lately. Distant and irritable. She knew she hadn’t been the best sister, always off with Barry, but she didn’t think Taako minded much. It’s been _decades_ , if he had a problem with it, surely he’d mention it before now. This is Taako after all. Something else had to be up. Or perhaps… it was finally getting to him. She swallowed a pang of guilt.

“Hey, you all right, Ko?”

“Peaches and cream, baby.”

She squinted at him. “ _Pssh._ You gonna tell me what’s haunting that noggin of yours?”

“Eh, nothing. Gotta confess, though, this world’s capital B Boring. We’re almost out of _Magic Thistle’s Blonde Blast_ , and we’re dealing with some real genuine assholes out here. I asked Ayana and she said the only astroland with sunny beaches is way past where we’re heading, so we won’t even fuckin’ see it.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t be the first time we landed on a real stinker of a world. Listen, I don’t disagree, Taako, but, you know you’re the one staring at a big ol’ bunch of nothing, right? Check out this mega hunk with me.”

“But that means I have to move.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Fiiiine.” Taako glanced over his shoulder with the highest level of apathy he could muster, but genuine amazement pushed open his mouth and widened his eyes anyway. “Huh.”

“Sexy, right?” Lup, giddy and grinning, leaned forward as though that might help her read the blinking advertisements posted all along one of the pockmarked surfaces of the asteroid. They promoted restaurants, inns, entertainment, lightsail repair and a number of other things. Aside from those, and the habitat domes and the lighthouse, the rest of the place was a craggy, uneven chunk of stone as would be expected. How they were able to gut it without blasting it to pieces boggled the mind. Grandalia had been spherical, due to its much larger size, so it was easier to wrap her head around it being more like a planet. The engineering involved in sustaining a place like _this_ must be beyond anything she could ever understand.

“No thank you! Looks like God wadded up a planet in their fist and tossed it aside, but missed the cosmic waste bin so now it’s littering the fuckin’ solar system. Enjoy your stay at God’s shitty rough draft motel.”

Lup laughed, and found that she didn’t disagree, but that wouldn’t stop her.

The Starblaster gently banked, and moored with other lightsail ships along a docking scaffold. Once the boarding bridge had been secured, and the gravity and atmosphere levels evened out, they were finally cleared to disembark.

Lup climbed to the lip of the crow’s nest and jumped down, her descent slowed by a whispered spell so that she landed gracefully on her feet. She looked up, expecting Taako to follow, but he had not. Guess his determination to be a loser who stays behind was real after all.

“I’ll get you something dope!” she called up to him.

He gave no reply.

Lup soon joined the others for the walk down the star bridge to the primary docking corridor, suspension bouncing ever so slightly. The corridor itself was enclosed on all sides except for the top where a strip of the cosmos twinkled above their heads beyond thick glass.

Magnus took the lead with big, confident strides. Lucretia and Merle followed, Ayana between them relaying stories about her past experiences here. Barry kept his nose in the supply list, and knowing him, he was struggling with some major space sickness. Which was fair, they were walking on a glorified catwalk in outer space.

Lup was feeling far too much energy to keep to a leisurely stroll, so she broke into a power walk to dart past Magnus. “Last one there’s a rotten slug!”

“Hey!” Magnus laughed and put more energy into his stride to outpace her. The guards that lined the walkway intermittently made no move to stop their antics, so it went on until they were running full tilt, footsteps echoing down the corridor. They reached the end, where Magnus was first to tag the guardrail that kept them from entering some sort of medical checkpoint.

“Aw dammit!” Lup swayed and flopped her arms around like she was losing all of her bones. She was out of breath, which only added to the drama of it all. “The chaaaange! It’s happening! Oh gods! So fast this time!”

Magnus laughed heartily, barely out of breath himself. “Get used to it, slug-girl!”

A woman emerged from behind the checkpoint counter at the sound of their commotion. She wore the white and gold slitted robes of the imperial medics that inspected them when they first arrived, er, crashed. Lup had almost forgotten about them, and this abrupt reminder sobered her excitement.

Luckily she was only there to help them through the checkpoint with painless ailment detection spells and a full-body sanitization potion, and saw no reason to subject them to the more thorough mechanical scanner setup off to the side. Free of deadly pathogens and disease, they then made their way through a receiving gate, and at last they were on the asteroid.

A large, open space greeted them. Golden light filtered down from the glass domed ceiling, like the sun on a cloudless afternoon. Odd that it wasn’t the cool, distant sunlight Lup recalled on Grandalia, but instead vibrant and warm. Plants grew everywhere here, too, and Lup figured they were integral in sustaining breathable atmosphere as much as they were pretty to look at.

Visitors and residents passed through the area, seeming to slow to bask in this light, but most didn’t linger long and went onward to their destinations. Their clothes were similar in style and color as Grandalia, though less extravagant. The hats and feathered hair accessories were the same at least.

A guide at a nearby counter directed Lup to an area along the back of the chamber. Gondolas waited to ferry passengers along a larger canal, which flowed toward several, smaller branching corridors.

Lup grinned. “Whoa! Are you telling me people get around here by log flume?”

“No clue what that means,” Ayana said, “but aside from a couple of footpaths with adjoining lifts, these canals are the main throughways. There’s a hydrothermal system here that keeps things warm and lit. This,” she gestured to a map that stood at the chamber’s center, “is the general layout of the astroland and locations of all the hubs. Once you’re at a hub, there’ll be another map to show you how to get around inside it. If you want magic junk, you’ll need to go to level two, Arcana Hub.”

As Ayana explained, they all moved to crowd around the map, except Merle, who was off to the side gazing up at the sunlit dome.

Barry, who had begun to look noticeably better now that they were no longer on the docking scaffold, stuffed the list of needed supplies into his pocket. “So we have like three hours tops to get what we need and relax for a bit. We’ll divide up and meet back here? Unless you want to do something together.”

“Someone other than me cooking a mountain of food sounds perfect,” Lup said. “I’ll get a to-go box for Taako and Cap’n’port.”

“Three hours will get away from us fast,” Lucretia said. “Why don’t we do our necessary shopping first and meet back here to decide if we have time to goof around.”

“Buddy up!” Magnus said, clapping a hand on Lucretia’s shoulder. “And let’s get a’movin’. I want time to go space bowling later.”

Straw-drawing had put Magnus and Lucretia together on grocery provisions, so they headed for the market gondola. Lucretia and Ayana exchanged a rather interesting look before they split off.

“Where would I find these fancy sun lights? I could use something like that in my greenhouse,” Merle said as Ayana pulled her chair up to him.

“Oh, they’ll be where we’re heading,” she said. “Off we go.”

Merle and Ayana then headed together for the guild hall gondola.

Lup and Barry boarded a gondola for the arcana hub. It floated at a brisk pace along the winding canal, its mounted robot driver steering them smoothly around bends and through tunnels. Barry kept his eyes on the fin-like lightsail at the back of the gondola as though it would help keep him from getting motion sickness. Lup thought it could go a lot faster, but also didn’t want puke in her hair.

They soon disembarked at the hub, and set out to explore its narrow, labyrinthine pathways. It was a bit like a little village, with shops set up in carved alcoves all throughout. Some had an enclosed room with windows above the shop that might have been apartments or storage. Most were open spaces where the vendors had erected their own tent covering and product shelves.

They were able to find simple material components, equipment, tools—but components for more advanced spells and experiments were nowhere to be found. Even when they attempted to request for these things covertly, they were met with shrugs and genuine ignorance. A book shop frustrated them further, its walls lined with volumes of the most tepid and basic concepts. Intermediate level at best, though most were for everyday use. Getting out stains, revitalizing gardens, brightening colors. Lup frowned after reshelving a book on boosting confidence in the bedroom with candle magic. That’s great, but where’s the _real good stuff?_ Planar teleportation, complex transmutation, gnarly potions that can turn someone inside out?

It wasn’t so much that using magic for simple daily life and self improvement was a bad thing. It’s just… that seemed to be all there was to offer here. And it became clear that if they lived on an astroland, instead of a planetoid like Grandalia, they had access to even less magic. Most of it had to be channeled into keeping the astroland habitable, which left little to be distributed.

“You know what I’m noticing about this place, Lup?” Barry asked. Lup made a sound, prompting him to continue. “Their whole world view of magic is barely below surface-level. They go far with what they have, but this is like, like...”

“Baby stuff. Yeah.” She smiled and bumped him with her hip. Of course he noticed the same thing she had. “You and me? Great minds. But I mean, you _know_ why.”

“Yeah.” Then he added, in his adorable attempt at elvish, “Fuck you, the empire.”

She laughed. “You tell ‘em, bear.”

Barry tugged her hand to lead her to a place where they could sit and enjoy a bite to eat. The little dumpling-like pastries were hard to resist. They talked in hushed tones, leaning into each other’s space.

“You know,” Barry said, “every time I think this could be the place where we finally find some new arcane physics that might help us out, it never happens. Lup… what if this is it? What if all we know is all there is to know?” He sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. “Just tired of being afraid that one of these days we’ll, you know, all beef it and that’s it.”

“Wanna switch? You dive into the experimental, I’ll work on theory?”

“D’ya have one?”

Lup twisted the bracelet around her wrist thoughtfully, fingers pinching the dispelled necrotic bead. “Cheat the system. Find a loophole. Not sure where to start with that, but we’ve stayed fairly legit with our magic so far. And… _fuck_. We go through every cycle and we don’t wanna disturb the balance, right? We know that we all come back as long as one of us is in the Starblaster. But that nearly entire year where it was just me and Magnus? The one when it was you and Dav? Lucretia literally rebuilding the ship on her own that one time? Those were rough years. And this one could be worse—we’re all together. If something happens to the Starblaster while we’re cruising through space for _months_ , and we all go kablooey, it's all over. I want to figure out a failsafe.” She looked at him, steeled herself. “I don’t care what kind of magic we experiment with anymore.”

Barry swallowed, and took her hand. He stared at their clasped fingers for a long time, and finally nodded. “We’ve been talking about, ah, necromancy lately.”

“Yeah,” she said, and her voice was so quiet that she barely heard it herself. “Maybe we work our way there…”

A hologram advertisement panel over a hub map nearby abruptly switched to an imperial symbol, and a familiar tune began to play. Almost everyone in their vicinity quieted and turned their attention to it. Lup curled her lip at this, but watched all the same.

“Greetings citizens of our glorious empire!” came a ubiquitous, disembodied voice. “The search for the mysterious Comet Enigma is still underway throughout the Stonesea. Our researchers have approximated the Enigma to have fallen within a 43,556 league radius of Tethelus in Sector Two. All competitors whose current position is more than an eight month journey away from this region are officially disqualified.”

The announcement continued, but Lup became distracted at how Barry fluttered his fingers and mouthed numbers as if counting.

“Oh, shit,” he said, eyes going wide.

“What? Is that us? Are we _disqualified?_ I don’t give a fuck, we’re still—”

“No, no.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “I just figured this out myself. I was hoping we’d have an edge, and now they’re just telling everyone? What’s the fucking point of that?”

Lup glared at the imperial symbol, the star-wreathed red rose, and could not help but feel they were being watched. If not through the screen itself—which sounded absurd—then some other way. She leaned her head on Barry’s shoulder, and he instinctively wrapped an arm around her.

“We did a bug sweep on all the shit they gave us, right?” she said, lips moving against his neck. To anyone on the outside, they’d just look like a couple getting a little too close in public.  
“Y-yeah,” he said, tilting his head to the side. “Ayana said she saw nothing. I trust her.”

“Me too. Still, wouldn’t hurt to do it again.”

“You got it.”

Lup curled further into Barry’s embrace and slung her arm around his soft belly. The imperial announcement repeated, then it went quiet and the murmur of the market crowd returned.

Barry kissed her forehead. “We’ll figure something out.”

Of course they would. They had to. The entirety of existence was counting on it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you to desiree_harding and thimbleful for beta-reading. <3
> 
> This chapter is taakitz all the way. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!!

Taako stepped off the gondola and tried to ignore the chaos of butterflies in his stomach. This was risky—sneaking off alone—but he had to know the exact flavor of danger they were up against without alarming everyone about Kravitz’s presence. 

The comm stone Ayana had given him rested heavy in his pocket. She was just a call away. He could back out of this at any moment, and give some excuse about how he got bored and wanted to have a wander. They’d believe it, especially if he emphasized his boredom. It wasn’t exactly unprecedented for that alone to inspire risks he otherwise might have avoided.

And so he headed into the hub that Ayana had suggested for his meeting with Kravitz. Starcliff Village, a cavernous chamber filled with buildings carved from the asteroid like sculptures. It resembled the downtown area of an ancient city, suffused with plantlife, a grid of wide footpaths and canals winding throughout. Two-seater hover taxis drifted along in specialized lanes, their lightsails glowing violet to alert pedestrians of their presence. Advertisement holograms lit up certain areas in glowing color, offsetting the old world architectural aesthetic. 

Taako stared beyond all of this toward the far side of the cavern. What he thought had been reflective glimmers on the asteroid surface at first was actually stars. Half of the cavern was open to space, the exposed area sealed over with transparent curved paneling. He’d seen it overhead in the entrance terminal, but this was incredible. The sunglow effect the glass gave during the day cycle had faded to mimic twilight so that the actual stars beyond peered through. What a view. He expected something less spectacular. A dark, seedy market selling forbidden wares, perhaps filled with secret alcoves where covert meetings and sordid deals took place. But this, this was borderline romantic. 

He blinked and looked away. 

_ You’ll wanna go toward the promenade, _ Ayana had said, along with a promise to keep the others away from this hub.

As a precaution, Taako attempted to blend into the crowd and minimize the prominence of his pointed ears with an indigo wide-brimmed hat, its conical crown weighed down by a silver bird dangling from the tip. A cluster of feathers in jewel tones adorned one side of its silver satin band. He had also transmuted his robes so that they matched in deep indigo with silver trim, cinched tight around the waist and flowing around his arms and legs. He found he looked like a proper wizard, one with a buttload of money, so he made sure to charm his pockets full of pudding to ward off pickpockets. Lup would recognize him by how he moved, even in the dark colors and fancy-schmancy Grandalian style, so he still had to be careful. 

He tugged the brim of his hat low to shadow his face, and made his way through the loose crowd ahead. Following the flow of it along the main lane of foot traffic, he found the quarter where most of the restaurants appeared to reside. He walked around, fascinated, growing hungrier by the moment, and found his way through a corridor of shops toward a wider village square. Here, projected advertisements played on a loop. It gave the impression of some sort of carnival with all the colorful lights flashing around him. The alien marketing techniques on display delighted him to the point of distraction. One could learn a lot about a place from how it tempted its customers.

A hologram of asteroids lining up to eat at a tavern made him laugh, but before they could enjoy the food, all of the projection panels switched to the imperial symbol and the sound cut out. An announcement followed. The kindly, yet detached feminine voice said something about how they had narrowed down the search for the Enigma— _ eyeroll— _ and that anyone not within a certain range would be disqualified. Taako frowned. This had the stink of the empire wanting them to hurry the fuck up. Or it was all a bluff and they already had it. The Starblaster probably stood little chance against an empire that spanned an entire planetary orbit. 

As suddenly as it had appeared, the strange announcement vanished and all went back to normal. Most people around him had seemed to listen half-heartedly, and resumed their conversations as though completely uninterested in the Light of Creation, and whatever apparent contest was going on. Taako shivered, unnerved.

A bridge over a canal nearby afforded him a moment away from the crowd to process what he’d just heard. He felt exposed despite no one paying him any attention. Taako toyed with the imperial-issued, Ayana-hacked bracelet nervously, thankful for it even though all it did now was prevent the weird elf magic thrall effect. He glared down into the water, seeing the imperial crest in his mind's eye floating on the surface. They had to know the Starblaster was here and listening. Could they broadcast announcements everywhere at one time? Where is the promenade? _Where is Kravitz?_ He really wanted to get the fuck out of here, but he had to find the promenade first. 

Someone joined him on the footbridge and leaned on the carved stone rail. Taako discreetly peered toward the figure to find Kravitz looking out over the canal. He wore black breeches tucked into tall black boots, a cream-colored shirt, and a black frock coat with silver embroidered trim and buttons. Nothing as extravagant as the nobles wore at that party, but more than necessary for a clandestine meeting in a pretend amusement park city. Taako couldn’t recall how he dressed before. The lace-front shirt was familiar. Maybe he always looked this good, and had nothing to do with him.

Kravitz tilted his head to gaze sidelong at Taako and smiled. “Hello, as you lot say.”

“You found me.” Taako smiled with genuine surprise, fixing strands of his hair under his hat. “Bravo.”

“I  _ am  _ very good at finding things. Also, you’re hard to miss.” 

“What? This is my best disguise.”

Kravitz looked up toward the brim of Taako’s hat. “I recall you saying that you’d be wearing a dumb hat.”

Taako scoffed. “Have you  _ seen  _ the hats here? They could learn a thing or two from me. Sometimes less is more.” He tipped up the brim to look at Kravitz more easily. “Where’s yours?”

“Not much for them myself,” he said, and touched his locs. They were pulled back in a thick bundle, a few escaping to frame his face. He had a bandage on his forehead, and Taako wanted to ask about it, but kept it tucked away for later.

“So what’s a good place to eat here?” Taako asked instead, rocking on the heels of his boots. “I’m  _ starving _ .”

Kravitz smiled. “This way. The best food anywhere, aside from my mum’s kitchen, is the street food, and this place has vendors from all over.”

That was the right thing to say. After spending most of his youth copperless and caravan-bound, one thing he could count on for stability was selling food from the streets. Kravitz didn’t have to know this about him. Not yet. 

“Hell yeah, show me that greasy street meat,” Taako said.

Kravitz laughed and raised an eyebrow at that. “Aaall right. There are some through this way. Not as many to choose from, but it’s a quieter area that I think will be best for our discussion.”

Oh right. The  _ discussion _ . “The promenade, by chance?”

“Yes. But do let me know if it unsettles you there. We can find another place.”

“...Oooh-kay.” 

Kravitz smiled over at him. “It’s by the cliff, that’s all.”

Ah. Taako could handle that. Maybe.

Kravitz led the way along a canal that flowed out of the bustling square. It took them in the direction of the spaceview side of the cavern, as promised. They soon reached a walking path that circled a grassy park. A few food stands and mobile carts were set up along the entrance of the area. Smoke and steam billowed from griddles in clouds colored by the holographic signs around them. It all smelled spicy and savory and delicious. Taako’s stomach growled.

“Wait here,” Kravitz said, and headed off toward the carts.

Taako nodded and stood off to the side of the carts by a nicely manicured flower bed. This close, Taako could see the faint honeycomb pattern of the transparent barrier that kept everything from being sucked out into space. The knot in his chest eased somewhat. It shouldn’t bother him, it was like looking out over the side of the Starblaster as it drifted through space, but the Starblaster was familiar. It was home. 

A lightsail ship drifted by, slow and silent as it headed for the docking scaffold around the bend. Taako watched it idly, anchoring his attention to it to prevent himself from slipping into his thoughts.

“Here you are,” came Kravitz’s voice from behind. “The ube chips are my favorite.”

Taako accepted the food with an easy smile. “Thanks. Do you, uh, want—” He fished through his pocket into a hidden seam that bypassed the pudding, and withdrew a few silver coins. 

Kravitz glanced at the coins, expression conflicted, then took them when Taako insisted. They’d been transmuted from ordinary rocks to look like Stonesea currency. Physically no different than the real coins. Perhaps they were different in principle, but that hasn’t mattered in seven decades. What’s this shitty, shitty feeling in the pit of his stomach? Delicious smells of food wafted upward from the bundle in his arm. Ah. Hunger. 

Taako bit into the grilled, spiced meat-on-a-stick, devouring it in seconds. A bread pocket stuffed with seasoned mushrooms and leafy vegetables followed. He shared the purple potato fries with Kravitz, because the man made good choices. Something grilled, something stuffed, and something fried. Classic staples of any street food culture throughout the multiverse. Like gravity or the speed of light, a universal constant. 

They enjoyed the food as they walked around the promenade. Kravitz explained the history of this asteroid from its beginnings as a tiny mining settlement, to a quarantine hospital, to an empty warning beacon, and finally to its current purpose. Taako listened, perhaps paying more attention to the sound of his voice than what he was actually saying. It was… nice. Better than small talk. Taako liked him. Not once did he pry into Taako’s personal life, and he found himself wishing he would have. 

Once the food was consumed, however, Kravitz grew quiet. He led Taako to an area where there were places to sit and watch the stars. They were alone here, and reluctantly Taako remembered the reason they were here in the first place.

“I know you haven’t got much time, so I suppose we should get on with it then,” Kravitz said, sitting across from Taako. “I have a sonic ward in effect. Also not detecting any listening spells or devices, so we can talk openly here.”

“Cool.” Was that true this whole time? Taako slowly sat on the cushioned bench, his back to the stars. “Go on.”

“I’m an artifact hunter. I work for a guild that tracks down, records, and returns stolen objects of cultural significance. We also keep them safely stored if requested.”

“Sounds fascinating,” Taako said dryly. “What does that have to do with us?”

“You’re leading the empire straight to an artifact that we can’t afford to let them find.”

“What--the Light of Creation?”

“Is that what you call it?” Kravitz scooted to the edge of his seat. “Why? What does it do? Does it… create?”

“Okay, whoa there cowboy,” Taako said, laughing. “Let’s circle back to the artifact business. You said you hunt down stolen artifacts. Who’s stealing them? Those syndicate fools? The evil empire?”

“Yes. Well, the empire is the primary culprit. They will sometimes hire the Syndicate to do their dirty work, but they’re just as likely to be a thorn in their side.”

“Do you think the empire hired them to come after us then?”

Kravitz looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe. It’s just as likely that they want the Light of Creation for themselves.”

“It does have that effect,” Taako said. “Makes you want it, want to use it for some greater purpose. It has no sense of morality. Doesn’t care who it draws in, or if it falls in the wrong hands.”

“That’s precisely why I’ve been sent to get to it before they do.” Kravitz blinked. “I mean—”

Taako tensed, and sat forward. “So you’re not here to help. You  _ also _ want it for yourself.” 

Kravitz set his jaw. “I... Not for myself. As I said—”

“Whatever.” Taako waved a dismissive hand. “I’m with you on keeping it from the empire or the syndicate, but I also can’t let you swoop in and take it. You have no idea what’s coming and how monumentally fucked you all are if we don’t find the Light. It’s basically like this: if we find it, you could survive. If we don’t, you’ll cease to exist. All of you—emperor and rebel alike. Simple as that. So, you might wanna back off. This isn’t an artifact, it’s not something anyone made or stole. You don’t have a claim to it, okay?”

Kravitz’s expression turned grim. His gaze drifted out to the stars beyond the glass. “What do you mean? What’s coming?”

“It’s like a galaxy-sized storm of self-aware entropy. You know entropy?”

“Not personally.” 

Taako laughed. “Good one. Well, turns out he’s a douchebag and he’s hungry. It would really like to snack on that Light of Creation and occupy multiple dimensions at once or some shit. You should ask Merle for specifics on that. Anyway, it’s bad stuff. You’re looking at an elf who has seen entire worlds torn from reality before his gorgeous eyes.”

Kravitz seemed to draw inward at this. A little line formed between his brows, and Taako had the urge to do something about it. When Kravitz finally spoke, he looked directly at Taako. “Why do you have to be the one that gets it? Why can’t we? It’s our world that’s in jeopardy. Why should you be the one to decide our fate?”

Taako sighed, big and heavy, and drew his leg up to the bench so he could twist to look at space. Not this again. Lup was so much better at fielding this sort of retort. So much so that he’d stopped paying attention to how she does it and risked angering Kravitz with his cynical pragmatism. “I’d argue you do get to decide your fate by letting us deal with it or not. We’ve done this countless times before, and we know what the fuck we’re doing.” 

“Do you? You’re still at it. Maybe it’s time for a new strategy.”

Taako stood at that, irritation bubbling over to anger. “Why is everyone always so fucking dense about this? I don’t know what else to say to you, man. It’s not gonna be good for you if we just piss off and let you take it. The Hunger will absorb this whole place, you’ll all become part of it and suffer in ways I can’t possibly explain. We’ll be sent off to another plane without a scrape. Rinse, repeat.”

Kravitz didn’t stand, but looked up at him, almost imploringly. “What if we can keep it safe, the Light. What if we… have a way to protect it? My guild, it’s able to protect so many other—”

“We can’t leave until about a year has passed. So you’ll have to deal with us up to that point.”

Kravitz frowned slightly. “A year…?”

“Seven hundred thirty-something Stonesea days. I think?”

“I see.”

Taako wanted Kravitz to stand and face him. He wanted Kravitz to back down and understand. Kravitz was doing both and neither. Maybe he’s used to dealing with petulant assholes, and Taako was sure feeling like one right now. So naturally, he dug his heels in deeper. 

“If you wanna keep following us, then fine. But it’s best to not get on our bad side. We really don’t wanna have to fight you for it when we get there. Capiche? You think long and hard about this. I’m still not convinced you’re on our side. If this whole meeting was an attempt to do that, it failed.”

“I don’t want to be on your bad side, Taako. That’s the last thing I want.” Kravitz stood at last, and Taako’s heart skipped a beat. “But you have to understand my perspective here. I don’t want to just undermine the empire. I want to destroy it. This Light of yours, it could do that. Maybe you haven’t had to deal with oppressive regimes where you’re from. You obviously have the great burden and great privilege of worrying about the whole universe. I can’t, do you see? I have to worry about this place and my people. What’s the use of giving up on a chance like this if by saving our world it will continue to bear the same suffering once you’re gone?”

Taako couldn’t argue with him on that, nor did he want to. He wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted anymore, but it did involve wishing he’d never met Kravitz. Because this would be the moment when he felt his heart first ache to never forget him. 

“I should go,” Taako finally said, voice breaking a little. “You’re welcome to keep following us. I won’t tell anyone unless I feel you’re in danger, okay?”

Kravitz looked at him with some heavy emotion that Taako couldn’t name. It cleared away, replaced with simple concern. “I’ve been seeing things,” he said. “Shadows in puddles, stars disappearing.”

Taako hummed. “That’s how it starts.”

Kravitz lowered his gaze, worry wrinkling his brow. “Is it?” He sighed. “Taako, I don’t want to disrupt what you’re doing here. I see that it’s important.”

“I know.”

“But I might.”

“I know,” Taako said, defeated, and turned to walk away. 

He didn’t look back to see if Kravitz followed, not that it would have mattered. Taako was done talking for now. He hated how he felt about this. Conflicted, angry, hurt. And under it all was an obvious affection for Kravitz that he shouldn’t entertain. If Kravitz wanted to destroy an empire, if that brought him peace, then Taako wouldn’t stop him. He would even help if he could, but he had no idea how to fit that into the schedule. They had  _ months _ .

Once he reached the town square, Taako went to retrieve the comm stone, but jammed his hand into a pocket of pudding instead. He swore under his breath, hand shaking as he wiped it off on a cloth from a different pocket. Another try was more successful. The stone opened, and he brushed his fingertip over the glyph carvings along the edge, but nothing happened. He tried again.

The crystal screen flickered and emitted a spate of static, then went still. He tried again and again with the same result. Dread settled in. He looked around wildly. Something might be interfering with the signal, but what? He shoved the stone back into the pocket, directly into pudding.

“For fuck’s sake.” 

He glared at his surroundings. Guess it’s back to the Starblaster and hope that no one would question him. He resigned himself to looking foolish or desperate or vapid with boredom. 

Something flashed then, drifting across the enormous starview window. A silver ship unlike any other in this world, with a set of mismatched lightsails bolted to its hull, a floating ring rotating slowly at its back. It was unmistakable. The Starblaster was sailing away. His stomach dropped straight through the fabric of space-time.

_ “Mother fucker.” _

* * *

Kravitz stalked away from the promenade after Taako disappeared into the crowd, heart heavy and mood bleak. They barely made progress with that conversation, but he supposed he got all the information he needed. The Light would be dangerous in the empire’s hands. Something else even more dangerous was on its way to find it, devouring everything in its path. One enemy he understood and could deal with, the other was esoteric, unfathomable. He believed Taako, something  _ was _ coming, but that didn’t mean he would drop everything he fought so hard for over it. Not when there was a chance he could rid the Stonesea of the empire. Not when there was a chance he could find out what really happened to his mother.

He hoped Taako understood. That mattered to Kravitz more than he wanted to admit, even if Taako decided to never speak to him again.

On his way toward the employee tunnels, he reached a bridge over one of the wider canals, and a sudden, familiar sensation washed over him. He clutched his chest and looked around.

“Taako?” 

It was him, had to be. Nothing else felt like this. The magic poured towards Kravitz, warm like unseen sunlight, its uncurling ribbons of energy drawing him close. He was barely aware his feet took strides to bridge the distance. He felt himself bump into people on the way, heard his heart beating fast and loud in his chest. Then it was gone. He felt as though he’d been doused in dark, cold water. He blinked to shake off the sensation, and there was Taako standing before him, eyes wide and afraid one moment, and the next oddly unfazed.

_ “Thank fuck,” _ Taako said in a rush of air. He finished reclasping his bracelet. “Sorry to do that to you. There’s a… a kind of a problem.”

They were alone in a dark, empty ground floor shop. One of the fake ones to give the impression that the town was more than it seemed—hollow husks of carved stone with holes open to the outside serving as doorways. Several people were peering inside, probably also drawn by Taako’s magic. One by one, they lost interest. 

Colorful glowing beams splashed across the ground from the paneless windows. Taako stood in the path of one. It was beautiful how the light painted him like stained glass.

Kravitz still felt a little bereft, but his senses were returning to normal, and he registered the urgency in Taako’s voice. “Why are you—”

“Yeah, I just saw my ship leave?” Taako laughed sharply. “It’s no big deal, I’m sure. They’ll, uh… figure out I’m missing probably and turn around. More of a minor problem if anything. A momentary inconvenience.”

“Shit. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it’s wild, huh?” Taako’s ensuing grin was clearly a front. “I asked someone who works here to check the docking platform on his little terminal. The one we were parked at is empty. The stone thing Ayana gave me also isn’t working. I’m sorta trapped in this funpark hellzone, and you’re the only person here I know, so I used a little salacious magic to get your attention.” 

“Yes, it’s all right. I’m not--Taako, you seem...oddly casual about this.”

“I’m _ fine. _ Did you know these buildings are hollow?” He looked upward and cupped his hands. “Fuuuuck!” The word echoed. “See? Nice acoustics.”

Kravitz tried not to laugh. This was clearly a defense mechanism and he didn’t want to encourage it just yet. He cast a frantic glance around as though it might help summon a quick solution. “Come with me. My shuttle isn’t far,” he said. There would be a time to worry about the logistics of getting Taako back to the Starblaster later. For now, they needed to catch up to it.

Taako hesitated. “Hold on. You’re taking me with you. Won’t you get in trouble?”

“What other choice do we have? Taako, I’ll do everything I can to get you safely back to your ship. I promise. Please come with me. We need to hurry.” 

Taako smoothed out his robes. “Okay. Yeah let’s… let’s gooo.”

Kravitz hurried through the hub, Taako close behind, and made for the employee tunnels. He used the fake badge to gain access, one of several he kept in his pockets at all times, and after a few turns, they exited to a large cargo bay with smaller shuttles and skiffs parked along the perimeter. A larger ship hovered in the center, and several workers unloaded crates from its hold.

A long corridor off of the main cargo bay housed smaller bays containing egg-shaped pods, and Kravitz again used the employee badge to access one of them. It opened with a hiss.

“After you,” Kravitz said.

Taako looked on the verge of hysterical laughter. “You want me to get into a space egg?” 

“I’d like you to, yes. I sure don’t want you to be launched into space without one.” Kravitz smiled tightly. “It’ll taxi us to my ship.”

Taako grumbled and climbed into the cramped pod. “Can we catch up with them?” he asked as he strapped into the seat’s harness.

“We should be able to. You’ll be fine. Truthfully I’m more worried about… well.” Kravitz sighed and pulled the door hatch closed, and settled next to Taako. He buckled his own seat harness, and initiated deployment on the panel overhead. “Getting fired.”

Taako gave him a flat look. “You’re more worried about getting fired than about the state of my soul being attached to my body when my sister finds out about this?”

“Yes.” Kravitz flashed a broader smile. “It’s a bit rough at first. Hold on to something unless you want a gash on your forehead,” he said, gesturing at the bandage on his own.

Taako grabbed a stability handle, looking adorably offput. His ears were tilted downward and he had a little line between his brows. Kravitz silently thanked Kelemvor for this little problem and the second chance it brought.

The taxi pod launched out into space, guided by coordinates to Kravitz’s stealthed shuttle hovering out in the darkness. Anyone looking at taxi pod logs would see that an entertainment hub employee had boarded a personal skiff and left the astroland. He heard the onboard lightsail unfurl and the pod slowed to a gentle glide.

The flight only lasted a few minutes. There was a soft mechanical sound, and a gentle click as the taxi pod attached to the hull around the door of Kravitz’s shuttle. The doorways between the ship and pod opened next, and Kravitz unbuckled his harness.

“All right, then?” Kravitz asked.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Taako said. “That was actually fun as hell,” he added a sheepish smile.

“Good. Please forgive the mess. I wasn’t expecting you,” he said, and climbed out of the taxi pod. Once on the other side, he offered a hand.

Taako took his hand and climbed into the shuttle. The door hissed shut after, followed by mechanical sounds of the lightsail taxi pod decoupling from the hull of Kravitz’s ship. 

Taako let go of Kravitz’s hand belatedly. “Nice place,’ he said. “Wasn’t sure what to expect.”

“It’s probably smaller than what you’re used to.”

Taako’s smile was a little sideways. “I’ve lived in much smaller places with far less amenities, so it’s all good.”

Kravitz wanted to know more, but looked toward the cockpit, lips pursed in thought. “First thing’s first, we need to catch up, then we can try to contact them. Too many chances for others listening in around the astroland. Probably best that your comm stone didn’t work.” He headed for his seat at the helm. 

Taako followed, quiet and hesitant. He had taken off his hat and clutched it in his hands as if trying to stave off nervous energy. 

Kravitz dropped into the pilot seat and set coordinates to resume their previous path toward the Wilderness. The shuttle hummed to life, crystals on the dash lighting up. He glanced toward Taako. He looked curious, ears perked up higher than they were in the pod. His hair was a little disheveled from his hat, and the light from the crystals cast a pink glow over his face.

“Have a seat,” Kravitz said quickly, catching himself staring. He gestured to the co-pilot chair. “You’ll want to, actually, until we’re cruising.”

Taako stared out through the viewscreen as he sat. “Sick ride.”

Kravitz laughed. “Is that a compliment?”

“I don’t give a shit about vehicles normally, so yes.”

“It’s not mine,” Kravitz said, wishing it was. He pushed the lever on the helm to ease the shuttle into motion, and off they went. It didn’t take long to find the Starblaster’s signal on radar, but they had managed to cover quite the distance. 

“Forty minutes,” Kravitz said, stifling a yawn. He had missed his evening prayers, but he could catch up on that later. 

Taako sank into the seat. “They're really that far away already?”

Kravitz looked over at him after setting the shuttle into autopilot. “It appears so. I’m going to check in with Ayana as soon as we’re clear of Balefire’s comms array. She’s probably thinking of doing the same, especially if she never heard from you.”

Taako shrugged, and relaxed back into the chair with his hands folded behind his head. “It’s all good, my man. You do your thing. I’m gonna take a fucking nap.”

Kravitz tried not to make his heavy sigh so obvious, and focused ahead. The navigation hologram overlay on the viewscreen helped him zone out for a few moments, but a spike of anxiety pierced the moment. The only way to get Taako back on board the Starblaster was to reveal himself to them. He had already disappointed his elder by talking to Taako at all. 

But he wasn’t going to just leave Taako at the astroland by himself. The Light was important, but so was Taako. His family was out there. They cared for him. The way Kravitz’s chest tightened might’ve meant that he cared about Taako too, but that wasn’t something he could think about now. Maybe not ever. 

The ambient hum and intermittent processing beeps of the shuttle filled the silence. It was going to be a long forty minutes.


End file.
